Davis sponsors Guantanamo bill (02/04/2009)

Some Indiana legislators, including State Rep. Bill Davis (R-Portland, District 33), are declaring "Not in our state!" to Guantanamo prisoners.

A resolution authored by State Sen. Marlin Stutzman (R-Howe) is trying to keep the U.S. government from looking at Terre Haute's federal prison as a potential site to house detainees from the location in Cuba, which was closed by executive order from President Barack Obama. Since the shutdown of the facility, the federal government has been trying to find a place to put the more than 240 displaced prisoners.

Davis and State Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Jimtown) are co-sponsors of the House version of the resolution, which would have no binding legal authority.

"This measure is gaining support in both the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives as we aim to keep suspected terrorists out of our own back yards," Stutzman said in a press release.

Davis discussed the issue in a phone interview this morning.

"Our position is that Terre Haute may be a default prison to send these folks," Davis said this morning. "Because we also have a execution chamber there ... we just believe that Terre Haute is a likely place for the federal government to look.

"It's simply to bring attention to citizens and to the President that we don't want to bring terrorist-type prisoners to the state of Indiana and take the risk that other terrorist groups would target Indiana."

Other states with possible sites for Guantanamo prisoners, including California, South Carolina and Colorado have also voiced opposition to becoming potential holders of these suspected high-risk individuals. Davis said the legislature is joining that resistance before Indiana becomes a "default" location to place them.

"I have no idea where they might put these prisoners," he said. "I'm told they can't send them back to their home countries, many of them. Because other states are asking not to send prisoners to their states, that's the reason we need to."

The document asks "For the safety of Indiana resident and to avoid making Indiana a target for future terrorist attacks, the Indiana General Assembly respectfully requests that those currently detained at Guantanamo Bay not be relocated to the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana or any future facility within the State," and notes these prisoners as "extreme threats to national security."

The Terre Haute prison is the only penitentiary in Indiana housing a death row and the resolution makes specific note that the legislature "does not object to Guantanamo detainees justly tried, convicted and sentenced to execution being held in the Special Confinement Unit."

Although the document was spawned by state Republicans, Davis said he expects the resolution to garner support and pass both wings, including the Democratic-majority House.

"This is not a partisan issue. This is not a political issue," he said. "This is not a situation of our making for the federal government to send those prisoners into our state and possibly put us in harm's way."

The resolution, as of Tuesday, is sitting with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation and Veteran Affairs.

If passed, the resolution will be sent to President Obama, members of his cabinet and Indiana's U.S. representatives and senators in hope of gaining appropriate attention to keep these prisoners out of the state.

"Resolutions are resolutions," Davis said. "They are not law they are simply a request. They bring awareness to issues."[[In-content Ad]]