Link of the Day
After six years' imprisonment, it turns out that the Guantanamo Bay detainees have the right of habeus corpus after all.
It's worth noting that American legal precedent generally holds that it's better to let a murderer go free (for lack of evidence, or due to procedural error during trial) than to risk the possibility of imposing a sentence of imprisonment - or in some cases, execution - on an innocent person. Compare this to the case of the Guantanamo detainees, who have been held for years on what amounts to suspicion, since their state of guilt hasn't been determined by any court.
The Supreme Court decision is a welcome follow-on to the case of José Padilla, the U.S. citizen who had been declared an "enemy combatant" in 2002, and only faced trial in 2006. (Padilla was convicted of conspiracy & providing material support to terrorists, in a civilian court.)
It's worth noting that American legal precedent generally holds that it's better to let a murderer go free (for lack of evidence, or due to procedural error during trial) than to risk the possibility of imposing a sentence of imprisonment - or in some cases, execution - on an innocent person. Compare this to the case of the Guantanamo detainees, who have been held for years on what amounts to suspicion, since their state of guilt hasn't been determined by any court.
The Supreme Court decision is a welcome follow-on to the case of José Padilla, the U.S. citizen who had been declared an "enemy combatant" in 2002, and only faced trial in 2006. (Padilla was convicted of conspiracy & providing material support to terrorists, in a civilian court.)