When did fear-mongering in a time of war become anact of patriotism?
Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try AlQaeda strategist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other residents of the Guantanamo prison inAmerican civilian courts has provoked angry criticism from all the usualsources, from TheWall Street Journal editorial page tothe FOX News airwaves. While some of the complaints are thoughtful, many arenothing more than demagogic appeals that seek to undermine the foundations ofjustice in a democratic society.
When Holder's critics say that Mohammed doesn't"deserve" an open and adversarial trial, they are misunderstandingthe spirit of our laws. The right to a trialindeed, all the rights afforded tocriminal defendants under the Constitutionis not apportioned according to whatthe defendants supposedly deserve. What they deserve is, in fact, preciselywhat a fair trial is designed to determine.
The nation's founders despised the passions of thelynch mob and the arbitrary penalties handed down by kings and despots. Theywere particularly appalled by the tortures and abuse inflicted on AmericanRevolutionary soldiers by the British oppressorand vowed never to do the same toAmerica'senemies.
The Constitution Trumps Propaganda
When Holder's critics say that we don't dare try acriminal like Mohammed on the soil of the United States, in a New York City federal courthouse, that is a terribleconcession to the terrorists. The same is true when those critics protestagainst incarcerating a figure such as Mohammed in an American prison, ratherthan Gitmo. Essentially, those arguments exaggerate the power of Al Qaedawhichconservatives usually claim has been profoundly weakened over the past severalyearsand underestimates the strength of the American justice system.
In fact, we have been trying dangerous terrorists inAmerican courts for many years, and then incarcerating them in Americanprisons. According to a new study by the Center on Law and Security at New York University,the U.S.government has indicted 828 defendants on terrorism-related charges since 2001.Of those indictments, trials are still pending against 235 defendantsand ofthe remaining 593 defendants, 523 were convicted either at trial or via plea.
The single largest venue for terrorism trials is New York City, where 145terrorism indictments have been filed. The center found in a previous studythat the conviction rate in New York is higherthan in the rest of the nation, and that sentencing in New York is also tougher. That isunderstandableand may help to explain why the attorney general chose theSouthern District of New York for the Mohammed prosecution. In the city'sfederal courts, the conviction rate of individuals charged with terrorisminvolving a U.S.target is 100%.
When Mohammed is convicted (or pleads guilty, as hehas previously vowed to do), the U.S. federal prison system isideally equipped to inflict suitable punishment on him and his cohort. Betterthan providing him with martyrdom via execution, he should be buried in a"Supermax" prison, from which nobody has ever escaped, and left torot.
The most basic challenge of the terror campaignwaged by jihadi extremists is to preserve the differences between us and themachallenge that the American government has failed at in far too many instancesover the past eight years, through the use of torture, extrajudicialdetentions, renditions to other countries, and various other violations of U.S.law and treaty obligations. Our own courts found that these acts by theprevious administration were lawless and required them to be reversed.
As a nation, we should have the confidence to makethe case against these murderers according to our laws and Constitution,without fear of their propaganda or violence. Every precaution should be takento protect national security and public safetyand then our system will prevailover their perverse ideology.
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