A federal judge has rejected a request to block the U.S. government’s plan to transfer death row inmates, whose sentences were commuted by President Biden, to the high-security “Supermax” prison in Colorado. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that the 21 plaintiffs must first exhaust their administrative appeals regarding their transfer within the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) before seeking judicial intervention. The BOP has stated that it will not move these inmates until at least the end of May.
Most of the former death row prisoners remain at a facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Biden administration previously halted federal executions, a departure from the Trump administration’s approach, which saw a series of executions. The ACLU, representing the inmates, argues they can be safely housed elsewhere and claims the transfer process is unconstitutional and unjust, emphasizing that the hearings to assess the inmates’ transfer status were flawed.
The former inmates contend that their designation as security threats is arbitrary and based on unfounded classifications, asserting they have maintained good disciplinary records and participated positively in programming. They argue that being sent to the Supermax would subject them to extreme isolation, exacerbating their hardships.
In response, the Justice Department asserts that the BOP possesses the authority to determine inmate placements and that transfer to ADX is not a complete isolation. The judge emphasized that if the BOP deviates from its standard practices during the transfer process, it could support the inmates’ claims. Thus, while the court denied immediate relief, the legal fight over these inmates’ status remains ongoing.
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