Since June 30, President Barack Obama has cleared two dozen beds at Supermax for Gitmo detainees and today Senate Democrats will attempt to block a vote on Senator Jim Inhofe’s amendment [S.Amdt.1559] to the Defense Authorization bill (S.1390) for FY 2010. The amendment would prohibit the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to any facility in the United States. (A final vote on the Defense authorization may come as early as this evening.) In addition, Senator Inhofe is also sponsoring the ‘Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Safe Closure Act of 2009’ (S.370). We join Sen. Inhofe in asking you to call your Senators [(202) 224-3121] today and demand that they go on record, to vote ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ to keep terrorists out of America.

Previously, there was always a long waiting list to move infamous criminals, prisoners who had repeatedly assaulted guards or fellow prisoners, and high-security prisoners in grave danger in general population into Supermax. When President Obama took office there was one free bed. On June 30, 2009, Supermax inmate Eric Rudolph wrote Fox News saying it is already at capacity, “So even if they decide to move the detainees here I do not know where they would put them.”

Click on image to view the Bureau of Prison’s inmate population page

9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America asked Senator Inhofe for his reaction to the suddenly available space at Supermax: