Richard WarnickA fair trial and a just verdict?
The verdict: Yesterday Jose Padilla and two other defendants were convicted on three counts, including conspiracy to murder and providing material support to terrorists. The jury was out for only little more than a day. Padilla will be sentenced December 5 and faces life in prison.
Never mind that the government’s crimes against Padilla and his co-defendants are arguably worse than what he was convicted of. Remember that Padilla never tortured or imprisoned anybody, denied anyone’s constitutional rights, engaged in illegal wiretapping or made up false accusations (remember the “dirty bomb”?). Even the government admits Padilla has never killed anyone or engaged in terrorism. All he is alleged to have done is to fill out an application form (PDF), which anyway could easily be a forgery. Padilla’s fingerprints are on it, but that’s probably because interrogators handed him the original form after his arrest!
Our government held an American citizen without charge and subjected him to solitary confinement and torture for three and a half years. When the courts objected, the Bush administration got Congress to enact the Military Commissions Act. Now, at the whim of President Bush or his appointees, anyone at all can be declared an enemy combatant– at which point the accused loses even the right of habeas corpus and disappears forever into a secret prison system. Torture is optional.
From circumstantial evidence, I doubt that Jose Padilla was all that loyal to the USA. However the government’s case was flimsy and did not prove he was so dangerous that he deserves a life sentence. But we’re living in Bush’s America. Says Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House: “Jose Padilla received a fair trial and a just verdict.”
See Wikipedia for an overview of the Padilla case.
Previous posts:
The Lost Padilla Torture DVD and the Must-Do List
Cell No. 103
August 17th, 2007 at 9:00 am
There are two major issues for appeal: 1) the audio tapes that were played contained lots of chattering b/w terrorists that the Government never proved were connected to Padilla in any way, and arguably prejudiced the jury; 2) the competency ruling initially made before trial could be reexamined, especially given this treatment during the last 5 years.
Also, his sentence arguably should be reduced by 5 years even if the conviction is upheld, since judges usually give “credit for time served” and the government might want to avoid a civil suit over the inhumane treatment this American citizen received for 5 years.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
[...] A fair trial and a just verdict? (August 17, 2007) The Lost Padilla Torture DVD and the Must-Do List (March 4, 2007) Cell No. 103 (December 4, 2006) [...]