Oh Come On.
They are trying the guy who planned the 9/11 attacks in NY City
Two quick thoughts: 1. The people of NY City are made much less safe by this decision, since any lunatic terrorist will surely become more frantic to attack during the trial. 2. Any lawyer can credibly claim that it is not possible for the defendant to receive a fair trial in that city. This is akin to building a jury pool from the relatives of the murder victim. Can you imagine a jury comprised of the spouse, parents, siblings and close friends of the deceased?
WASHINGTON —Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and four other men accused in the plot will be prosecuted in federal court in New York City, a federal law enforcement official said early on Friday.
But the Obama administration has decided to prosecute Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — the Guantanamo detainee accused of planning the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen — and several other detainees before a military commission, the official said.
Both decisions are expected to be announced at the Department Justice later on Friday by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that press conference has not yet taken place.
Mr. Obama, asked about the decision during a news conference on his week-long trip to Asia, declined to comment directly, but said that Mr. Mohammed would face justice.
“I’m absolutely convinced that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice,” Mr. Obama said. “The American people insist on it and my administration insists on it.”
Obama is a lawyer. Maybe he knows something that I do not.
- Aggie the Perplexed
judi said,
November 13, 2009 @ 8:57 am
Neither of your two points would be a deterrent to Obama. Objections, mistrials, anything to make the case take longer and avoid a verdict would be welcomed.
I don’t see him as being terribly opposed to terror attacks lately either.