Gitmo detainees could come to Colorado

DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter supports the idea of bringing terror suspects to Colorado to be housed at the federal Supermax prison in Florence.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order Thursday saying the prison at Guantanamo Bay will be closed within a year.

It is unclear how many of the 243 current detainees at Gitmo will be relocated and how many will be released.

The Associated Press reports a senior administration official as saying Colorado's Supermax prison is being considered as a new home for some detainees.

"Supermax was built to handle exactly this type of inmate," wrote Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer in an e-mail to 9NEWS, confirming Ritter's support for the idea.

Ritter's acceptance stands in stark contrast to the reactions of leaders in several other states.

Fellow Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas warned the Obama administration not to send prisoners to Fort Leavenworth in her state.

A congressman from California is drafting legislation to prevent suspected terrorists from being held at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

Congressman Doug Lamborn, a Republican whose district includes Florence, opposes bringing detainees to Colorado.

"That's the last thing we should do," said Lamborn. "I don't want them in Colorado, there at Supermax, or actually anyplace on American soil."

Lamborn said he was concerned about terrorists "spreading their perverted way of thinking" to American prisoners. He also said he worried "liberal judges" would free terror detainees after bringing them to Colorado, based on "technicalities" of their battlefield captures.

Rep. Buffie McFadyen (D- Pueblo West) said she opposes bringing military detainees to a civilian prison.

"I'm not worried that someone would break out of Supermax," said McFadyen. "It just doesn't seem right that we would burden the Bureau of Prisons with the Department of Defense and the military's problem."

Some observers believe the detainees would need to be formally transferred from military to civilian custody before they could be placed in a federal prison like the Supermax in Florence.

Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, issued a statement reading, in part, that "any speculation about where that relocation might occur is premature."

A spokesperson for Democratic Sen. Mark Udall did not respond directly when asked if Udall supports bringing suspected terrorists to be imprisoned in Colorado.