Governor Sam Brownback has scheduled a town hall meeting for next week in Leavenworth to address the possible transfer of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to the federal penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth. Brownback and other state officials strongly oppose the move. Republican State Senator Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth says, once the prisoners are on US soil, they would be covered by U.S. constitutional rights, meaning they could seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. “Some of these guys could be turned loose into the community.” Fitzgerald said. “We’re used to having prisoners released but not these guys. This is a disaster waiting to happen.” Brownback and Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter this week saying they would fight attempts to place detainees in their states. The Defense Department is surveying Fort Leavenworth and a Navy prison in South Carolina as possible sites to house Guantanamo detainees.
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