A communications management unit (CMU) is a type of self-contained group within a facility in the United States
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication (telephone, mail, visitation) of inmates in the unit.
Origins
As part of the Bush Administration's
War on Terrorism
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...
, the April 3, 2006,
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
included proposed rules by the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
(FBOP) that "Limited Communication for Terrorist Inmates".
The changes were in response to criticism that the FBOP had not been adequately monitoring the communications of prisoners, permitting several terrorists convicted for the
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...
to send letters to other terrorists overseas. "By concentrating resources in this fashion, it will greatly enhance the agency's capabilities for language translation, content analysis and intelligence sharing", according to a government statement released with the rules.
[Eggen, Dan]
"Facility Holding Terrorism Inmates Limits Communication"
Washington Post, February 25, 2007
The public was given until June 2, 2006, to comment, as required by law. Civil liberty and human rights groups immediately questioned the constitutionality and stated that the provisions were so broad that they could be applied to non-terrorists, witnesses and detainees. The bureau appeared to abandon the program, but on December 11, 2006, a Communication Management Unit (CMU) was quietly implemented at Indiana's
Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute
The Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute (FCC Terre Haute) is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Indiana; much of the complex grounds is in Terre Haute, though portions are in unincorporated Vigo County. It is operate ...
. "From April to June 2010, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) opened up a period for public comment around the establishment of two Communications Management Units" with several civil rights groups and advocates "coming together to urge the federal Bureau of Prisons to close the experimental prison units." It is unclear who authorized the program; it was either the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, FBOP Director Harley Lappin or
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...
.
[Ven Bergen, Jennifer]
"Documents show new secretive US prison program isolating Muslim, Middle Eastern prisoners"
The Raw Story, February 16, 2007
Communication restrictions
Compared to other inmates, those placed in the CMU have little contact with the outside world. At least $14 million is spent on surveillance of the CMUs. A counterterrorism team in West Virginia monitors verbal communication remotely.
['Guantanamo North': Inside Secretive U.S. Prisons](_blank)
Carrie Johnson and Margot Williams, NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, 2011 Mar 3, via www.npr.org on 2011 03 04
Visitation
The CMU permits nine hours per month, with contact, meaning the visitor and inmate are in separate rooms with viewing through a glass window and talking via telephone. All conversations must be in English unless special permission is granted 10 days in advance. In addition to the already imposed restrictions, CMU "prisoners are banned from any physical contact with visiting friends and family, including babies, infants, and minor children."
["Aref, et al. v. Holder, et al. "](_blank)
The Center for Constitutional Rights, retrieved 2011 04 21
Mail
Non-CMU prisoners can usually send and receive unlimited mail, where incoming mail is checked for contraband, then delivered to the inmate. With the exception of correspondence with lawyers and the courts, letters sent to and from the CMU are read, copied and evaluated before being released, which results in delays of a week or more.
Telephone
Convicts in the general population are permitted 300 phone minutes per month; rules in the CMU allow one call per week, limited to 15 minutes, and it must be in English unless special permission is granted 10 days in advance. The duration of the single call can be reduced to 3 minutes at the discretion of the warden.
CMU 1, Terre Haute, Indiana
On February 25, 2007, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported the creation of a medium security ''Communication Management Unit'' housing 213 inmates in Terre Haute. The staff monitors all telephone calls and mail, and requires that all inmate conversations occur in English unless special permission is arranged for conversations in other languages.
It was physically situated in the former death row section, and all but two of the inmates are
Arab Muslims, leading the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU) to raise a concern about
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
. The ACLU also charged that the communication restrictions are unduly harsh for prisoners who are not sufficiently serious security threats to warrant placement in
ADX Florence
The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pri ...
, the
Supermax facility in Colorado.
Current and former inmates include "American Taliban"
John Walker Lindh
John Philip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American convicted felon who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghani ...
,
the
Lackawanna Six,
Enaam Arnaout
Enaam M. Arnaout ( Kunya: ''Abu Mahmoud'';Fitzgerald, Patrick J. United States of America v. Enaam M. Arnaout,Governments Evidentiary Proffer Supporting the Admissibility of Co-Conspirator Statements, before Hon. Suzanne B. Conlon born 1962) is a S ...
,
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen "Rick" Ames (; born May 26, 1941) is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer turned KGB double agent, who was convicted of espionage in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, in the Federa ...
,
Brandon Russell
Brandon Clint Russell is a Bahamian American Neo-Nazi leader and the founder of the Atomwaffen Division.
Creation of Atomwaffen
Russell, who went by the handle " Odin", first appeared on the Iron March on March 22, 2014, at age 18. Iron March wa ...
and
Kirksey Nix
Kirksey McCord Nix Jr. (born 1943) is the former leader of the Dixie Mafia.The Sun Herald, ''The Dixie Mafia:Sheriff Leroy Hobbs, Drugs and Murder'', Gene Swearingen and Anita Lee, September 15, 1990 .
CMU 2, Marion, Illinois
Although the
Supermax facility is gone, the
United States Penitentiary, Marion
The United States Penitentiary, Marion (USP Marion) is a large medium-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Southern Precinct, Williamson County, Illinois, Southern Precinct, unincorporated area, unincorporated Will ...
, in 2008 became home to the other known "Communication Management Unit" in the federal prison system.
[McGowan, Daniel]
"Tales from Inside the U.S. Gitmo"
Huffington Post, June 8, 2009 The inmates are predominantly Arab Muslims, but it once housed
Daniel McGowan, after his involvement in two arsons at logging operations in Oregon. His sentence was given ''"terrorism enhancements"'' as authorized by the
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...
.
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, Leaderless resistance, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelt ...
(ALF) prisoner Abdul Haqq, whose legal name is Walter Edmund Bond and whose birth name was Walter Edmund Zuehlke, was held at USP Marion CMU from January 2012 to March 2015. Abdul Haqq is serving 12 years and 3 months for three counts of arson in relation to the ALF.
The Marion CMU also houses Richard Scutari, a former leader of the
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
revolutionary group,
The Order. Scutari was sentenced to a 60-year prison term in 1985. He was moved to the USP Marion CMU in July 2008.
Traits of CMU and its prisoners
A 2011 story by
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
reported 50 units and 71 inmates at CMUs. It also described open cells, and a basketball court. A lawyer from
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
has been inside the Terre Haute CMU.
[ NPR also claimed to have identified dozens of inmates at the CMU and compiled a list on its website. The sorts of cases include:][DATA & GRAPHICS: Population Of The Communications Management Units]
Margot Williams and Alyson Hurt, NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, 3-3-11, retrieved 2011 03 04 from npr.org
*Cases involving material support of terrorist groups like Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
or Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
(and various charity frauds)
*Plots: 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot The 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot was a 2005 effort by a group of ex-convicts calling themselves '' Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh'' to bomb several military bases, a number of synagogues, and an Israeli consulate in California.
On 31 August 2005, Kevin ...
, Buffalo Six, Portland Seven The Portland Seven was a group of United States, American Islam, Muslims from the Portland, Oregon area arrested in October 2002 as part of an FBI operation attempting to close down a terrorism, terrorist cell. The seven were attempting to join al Q ...
, Liberty City Seven
The Liberty City Seven were seven construction workers and members of a small Miami, Florida-based religious group who called themselves the Universal Divine Saviors. Described as a "bizarre cult," the seven were arrested and charged with terrorism ...
, 2004 New York City Subway plot, Toledo terror plot, Virginia Jihad Network The Virginia jihad network was a group of young men centered in Northern Virginia that were accused of conspiring to train and participate in violence overseas. The men, Muhammed Aatique, Hammad Abdur-Raheem, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Seifullah Chapm ...
, etc.
*Crime attempts from within jail, including threatening judges
*Various murder, bank robbery, and drug cases.
Ed Ross of the Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
said the units were designed for the following offenses:[
*people convicted of terrorism,
*prisoners who have dealt drugs
*prisoners who tried to recruit or radicalize others
*prisoners who have abused their communications privileges by harassing victims, judges and prosecutors
The Terre Haute CMU restricts Muslim group prayer to once per week (once per day during Ramadan) according to a 2010 lawsuit filed by inmates Enaam Arnaout and John Walker Lindh. The suit alleges that the prison violates religious rights to pray five times per day, in a ritually clean place, "preferably in a group".] On March 30, 2010, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of plaintiffs Yassin Muhiddin Aref, Avon Twitty, Daniel McGowan, Royal Jones, Kifah Jayyousi, Hedaya Jayyousi, and Jenny Synan "challenging policies and conditions at two experimental prison units that are being operated in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Marion, Illinois, as well as the circumstances under which they were established." As of 2011, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights estimates the Muslim population of CMUs at roughly 70 percent. They are also barred from praying together.[
An ]ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
lawsuit charged that CMUs of the federal prisons violate inmates' rights. In a ''Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' Interview on June 25, 2009, animal rights activist Andrew Stepanian, a member of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) was an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), Europe's largest contract Animal testing, animal-testing laboratory. HLS tests medical and non-medical substances on ...
(SHAC), talked about being jailed at the CMU. Stepanian is believed to be the first prisoner released from a CMU.[Goodman, Amy]
"Animal Rights Activist Jailed at Secretive Prison Gives First Account of Life Inside a 'CMU'"
Democracy Now, June 25, 2009
See also
* Political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
* WriteAPrisoner.com
WriteAPrisoner.com is an online Florida-based business. The business's goal is to reduce recidivism through a variety of methods that include positive correspondence with pen pals on the outside, educational opportunities, job placement avenues, ...
References
External links
FCC Terre Haute
USP Marion
Interview with CMU Prisoner: What is the prison like?
The secret US prisons you've never heard of before
- TED
TED may refer to:
Economics and finance
* TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar
Education
* ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association
** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey
** Transvaal Education Depa ...
talk by Will Potter
Will Potter is an American investigative journalist and public speaker. From 2016 to 2017, he was the Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Michigan. He has written for several publications, including the ''Chicago Tribune' ...
about CMUs
Little Guantanamos: Secretive “Communication Management Units” in the US
Project Censored, 2016
{{Federal Bureau of Prisons
*
Penal system in the United States
War on terror
Counterterrorism in the United States
2006 in American law