Gonzales pronounces Supermax safe

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, November 20, 2006

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged today there have been problems at Supermax prison in Florence but said steps have been taken to improve security and make sure the community is safe.

"I think it’s a safe facility," Gonzales said during a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. "Have mistakes been made? Have there been some problems there? No question about it, like there are at every facility. But we’ve taken steps to address them."

Gonzales said the Department of Justice has added 11 new employees at Supermax, and that seven more positions will be filled "as soon as we can." The 18 new employees would bring the facility to 208 — still short of the 240 employees it had when the prison opened in 2004.

Supermax, the nation's highest-security prison and home to inmates such as 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, also has addressed problems with inmate mail and phone calls not being monitored, Gonzales said.

He said a "large portion" of phone calls are being monitored as they occur, and others are recorded and later reviewed by translators. All mail is being viewed, he said.

In September, a Justice Department inspector general's report criticized the prison for not properly screening terrorists' mail and other communications. Gonzales today called that situation "intolerable" and said steps were taken to correct it.

"We spend a lot of taxpayer dollars in the investigation and prosecution of these kinds of dangerous criminals, and to have them locked up and to still present a danger to the American citizen is not right," he said.

Residents and local law enforcement also have expressed concern about the safety of the prison's perimeter, and about local police not being able to communicate via radio with prison guards.

Gonzales said he has asked the director of the U. S. Bureau of Prisons to look into those concerns as well.