So there has been much ado about the arrest of Muslims related to terrorist charges. We all see the headlines. However, how many of them are actually holding up to close scrutiny?
John Walker Lindh was plead out of the system.
Jose Padilla was declared an enemy combatant once Ashcroft realized the evidence he had wouldn't fly in the criminal justice system.
Yaser Hamdi might be released after two years, with NO charges being brought against him.
Brandon Mayfield was the latest Richard Jewel.
Anybody know what's going on with Lackawanna Six?
Today's news stories have to do with Michigan.
LiberalOasis worries about how some of these arrests might be politically motivated.
Al-Muhajabah has two news clippings on other cases that are going not so well for the fear-mongers - who are different from the terrorists. (1, 2)
Of course, the presumption of innocence may have flown out the window, but you hope that the legal system will eventually prove to be stronger than current political attacks against civil rights would have it. This article from CNN carries an analysis that worries me: It essentially says that the state can incarcerate people for time limits for which there is no legal basis. Of course, the case comes out of Texas, an inheritor of the compassionate conservative legacy.
Just a reminder that a population must be ever vigilant.
So there has been much ado about the arrest of Muslims related to terrorist charges. We all see the headlines. However, how many of them are actually holding up to close scrutiny?
John Walker Lindh was plead out of the system.
Jose Padilla was declared an enemy combatant once Ashcroft realized the evidence he had wouldn't fly in the criminal justice system.
Yaser Hamdi has been released after two years, with NO charges being brought against him.
Brandon Mayfield was the latest Richard Jewel.
Anybody know what's going on with Lackawana Six?
LiberalOasis worries about how some of these arrests might be politically motivated.
Al-Muhajabah has two news clippings on other cases that are going not so well for the fear-mongers - who are different from the terrorists. (1, 2)
Of course, the presumption of innocence may have flown out the window, but you hope that the legal system will eventually prove to be stronger than current political attacks against civil rights would have it. This article from CNN carries an analysis that worries me: It essentially says that the state can incarcerate people for time limits for which there is no legal basis. Of course, the case comes out of Texas, an inheritor of the compassionate conservative legacy.
Just a reminder that a population must be ever vigilant.
I'll have to add something to this post if only to offer a different opinion on the law than the niqabi paralegal, but I have to finish my housepainting for the day. Suffice to say for now, Lindh did not plead out of the system. Pleading is part of the system, and Lindh, with the advice of very good defense counsel, pled guilty to aiding the Taliban which is a US crime. He was sentenced to 20 years. I'll have more to say about the other cases later, inshallah.
Posted by: Tony | Sep 05, 2004 at 09:13
What ever happened to Sammi Al-Arian, the Palestinian professor in Florida? So many people seemed ready to believe he was guilty before a trial - but I really wondered about the evidence and the charges. What's the story with that?
Posted by: Leila | Sep 06, 2004 at 02:07