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June 10, 2004
20 years after 'molestor' is jailed, victims recant20 years after 'molestor' is jailed, victims recant BAKERSFEILD, Calif. - A judge Friday threw out the conviction of a man imprisoned 20 years for molesting children, concluding that the testimony of the alleged victims was unreliable. Most of the children now say the assaults never happened. John Stoll, now 60, will remain in custody until a May 4 hearing to determine a release date. He was convicted in 1985 on 17 counts of child molestation. Attorneys for the Innocence Project have sought his freedom since January, claiming authorities coerced false testimony from the child victims, ranging from 6 to 8 years old. ... March 06, 2004
Kevin Cooper: Making a life for myself in this living hellMaking a life for myself in this living hell One day in 1991, I was out on the yard playing basketball when an officer called my name and told me that I was wanted inside. When I asked him what I was wanted for, he just turned and walked away. After being handcuffed behind my back, I was taken from the yard to inside the unit, where I was placed in a holding cell where I was uncuffed and told to wait. In the six years that I had been in this prison, I had never felt more alive than while sitting in that holding cell, soaking wet with sweat. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my blood running in my veins. I could hear my breathing and taste my sweat. I couldn't wait to get back outside to finish playing basketball. Basketball not only kept me in great physical shape, but it was also a way for me to escape from this prison environment for a couple of hours every day. While in the holding cell, I was approached by a man wearing a suit and tie, not a uniform like the officers who work in the unit wear. The man asked me my name and number, and I told him Cooper C-65304. He then told me that I, Kevin Cooper C-65304, had been given an execution date. ... Kevin Cooper: This is Not My Execution and I Will Not Claim ItKevin Cooper: This is Not My Execution and I Will Not Claim It I, Kevin Cooper, am writing this from death row at San Quentin Prison. I am scheduled to be the next Black man executed by the state of California on February 10th, 2004. While I am an innocent man about to be murdered by this state, I realize that innocence makes no difference to the people who control the criminal justice system, including this prison. This is the same system that has historically and systematically executed men, women and children who look just like me, if only because they can. While it is my life that will be taken, and my body filled with poison, I will not say that this is my execution! That's because it is not, it is just a continuation of the historic system of capital punishment that all poor people all over this world have been and are subjected to. To personalize this crime against humanity as "my execution" would be to ignore the universal plight, struggle and murder of poor people all over this planet we call Earth. Thi! s I cannot and will not do! I will be murdered by the state with my understanding that this crime of evil is something that happens to men like me in this country. Especially when we are convicted (wrongfully, in my situation) of killing white people! If I must be murdered by the state, then I will do so with my dignity in tact. This guilt that the criminal justice system has put on me will be questioned by anyone and everyone who finds out the whole truth of this case. In Struggle, From Death Row at San Quentin Prison, Kevin Cooper For more on the Cooper case visit: www.savekevincooper.org/
February 02, 2004
Yaser Hamdi to Meet Lawyer For First Timet r u t h o u t - "Enemy Combatant" to Meet Lawyer For First Time Excerpt: Dunham, meanwhile, has argued Hamdi's case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, accusing the administration of side-stepping the American judicial system. Late last year, the administration relented and agreed to let Hamdi see his attorney but under certain restrictions. Lawyer groups have complained that these restrictions threaten attorney-client privilege. "A lot of lawyers think I shouldn't even go. I feel we have an obligation to see this man. We are in a position we don't have a choice," Dunham told The Associated Press. "The big thing is meeting this guy I've been representing for close to two years." |
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Yaser Hamdi case headed to Supreme Court
Supreme Court Expands Review of "Enemy Combatant" Cases
(TruthOut permacopy)
January 05, 2004
Obscure 1872 law cited in case against Greenpeace
Protesters wary of new tactic by feds /
Obscure 1872 law cited in case against Greenpeace
(TruthOut permacopy)
January 01, 2004
Jose Padilla: A Constitutional Challenge for Us All
The Independent Institute | Jose Padilla: A Constitutional Challenge for Us All, by Brigid O'Neil
Excerpt:
Obviously, the repercussions of this case extend far beyond the rights and livelihood of a man who’s turned his back against authority for much of his life. The horror is this story could happen to anyone -- citizen or non-citizen. The actions of the Administration in this case defy the fundamental role of our constitutional rights: protecting the rights of the minority against the tyranny of the state. If all of us can’t find something to get riled up about in the case of Jose Padilla, then the Constitution will have lost its last line of defense against tyrannical rule -- an informed and active populace.
December 19, 2003
Who's Who among American Terrorists
This is a detailing of the main American citizen detainees in the "War on Terror" -- John Walker Lindh, Jose Padilla, etc. -- and the presumed reasoning behind their various legal statuses.
December 01, 2003
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
(TruthOut permacopy)
November 26, 2003
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
By Robert Verkaik
Legal Affairs Correspondent
26 November 2003
One of the country's most senior judges launched an unprecedented attack on US treatment of the 660 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last night, saying they will become martyrs in the Muslim world.
Breaking with the convention that law lords do not speak out on politically sensitive issues, Lord Steyn described their imprisonment as a "monstrous failure of justice" and the military tribunals that will try them as kangaroo courts.
Lord Steyn, one of 12 judges who sits in the country's highest court, is understood to have been wrestling with his conscience for weeks. His comments would make it almost impossible for him to hear any appeal from the nine British prisoners held at the US naval base in Cuba if President George Bush agreed to send them for trial in this country.
...
"As a lawyer brought up to admire the ideals of American democracy and justice, I would have to say that I regard this a monstrous failure of justice. The military will act as interrogators, prosecutors and defence counsel, judges, and when death sentences are imposed, as executioners. The trials will be held in private. None of the guarantees of a fair trial need be observed."
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 09, 2003
Capital Punishment and Texas
Capital Punishment and Texas
by Kathryn A. Graham
Interestingly enough, I had never been opposed to capital punishment, or at least, not in theory. Yes, I'm a Libertarian, and most Libertarians I have met are opposed to such taking of life, but I'd always reasoned that the person being executed had most definitely initiated the force by committing a capital crime in the first place. In addition, I felt (and, in some ways, still do feel) that keeping a person in a cage for life was cruel and unusual punishment far beyond execution.
Boy, have I ever received an education! Yep, that's right. This very stubborn and opinionated gal has had her mind changed 180 degrees, and in record time.
You see, I live in Texas.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
October 06, 2003
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, beheaded in London in 1535.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 31, 2003
Family: Police beating killed man
Family: Police beating killed man
He'd been arrested in San Rafael after calling 911
The family of a man who died after a struggle with arresting officers is accusing the Marin County Sheriff's Department of beating the man to death.
San Rafael police and the sheriff's department are conducting investigations into the mysterious death of Cary James Grime, who called 911 asking for help early Sunday and ended up being forced to the ground by two officers and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
...
Lavie said Grime was was completely subdued and screaming, "Help, they're going to kill me," and 'They're breaking my arm."
She said she watched as the officers roughed him up, then pulled him into the patrol car by his cuffed wrists.
"I don't care if he was drunk or what he was being arrested for, what they were doing wasn't right," she said. "I think its disgusting."
Pittman said, however, that Grime was still resisting when he was taken to the Marin County Jail booking area. As deputies attempted to take off his handcuffs, Grime suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, Pittman said.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -3
Learning Percentage: 75%
August 17, 2003
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
July 03, 2003
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
Obscure 1872 law cited in case against Greenpeace
Protesters wary of new tactic by feds /
Obscure 1872 law cited in case against Greenpeace
(TruthOut permacopy)
Jose Padilla: A Constitutional Challenge for Us All
The Independent Institute | Jose Padilla: A Constitutional Challenge for Us All, by Brigid O'Neil
Excerpt:
Obviously, the repercussions of this case extend far beyond the rights and livelihood of a man who’s turned his back against authority for much of his life. The horror is this story could happen to anyone -- citizen or non-citizen. The actions of the Administration in this case defy the fundamental role of our constitutional rights: protecting the rights of the minority against the tyranny of the state. If all of us can’t find something to get riled up about in the case of Jose Padilla, then the Constitution will have lost its last line of defense against tyrannical rule -- an informed and active populace.
December 19, 2003
Who's Who among American Terrorists
This is a detailing of the main American citizen detainees in the "War on Terror" -- John Walker Lindh, Jose Padilla, etc. -- and the presumed reasoning behind their various legal statuses.
December 01, 2003
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
(TruthOut permacopy)
November 26, 2003
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
By Robert Verkaik
Legal Affairs Correspondent
26 November 2003
One of the country's most senior judges launched an unprecedented attack on US treatment of the 660 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last night, saying they will become martyrs in the Muslim world.
Breaking with the convention that law lords do not speak out on politically sensitive issues, Lord Steyn described their imprisonment as a "monstrous failure of justice" and the military tribunals that will try them as kangaroo courts.
Lord Steyn, one of 12 judges who sits in the country's highest court, is understood to have been wrestling with his conscience for weeks. His comments would make it almost impossible for him to hear any appeal from the nine British prisoners held at the US naval base in Cuba if President George Bush agreed to send them for trial in this country.
...
"As a lawyer brought up to admire the ideals of American democracy and justice, I would have to say that I regard this a monstrous failure of justice. The military will act as interrogators, prosecutors and defence counsel, judges, and when death sentences are imposed, as executioners. The trials will be held in private. None of the guarantees of a fair trial need be observed."
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 09, 2003
Capital Punishment and Texas
Capital Punishment and Texas
by Kathryn A. Graham
Interestingly enough, I had never been opposed to capital punishment, or at least, not in theory. Yes, I'm a Libertarian, and most Libertarians I have met are opposed to such taking of life, but I'd always reasoned that the person being executed had most definitely initiated the force by committing a capital crime in the first place. In addition, I felt (and, in some ways, still do feel) that keeping a person in a cage for life was cruel and unusual punishment far beyond execution.
Boy, have I ever received an education! Yep, that's right. This very stubborn and opinionated gal has had her mind changed 180 degrees, and in record time.
You see, I live in Texas.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
October 06, 2003
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, beheaded in London in 1535.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 31, 2003
Family: Police beating killed man
Family: Police beating killed man
He'd been arrested in San Rafael after calling 911
The family of a man who died after a struggle with arresting officers is accusing the Marin County Sheriff's Department of beating the man to death.
San Rafael police and the sheriff's department are conducting investigations into the mysterious death of Cary James Grime, who called 911 asking for help early Sunday and ended up being forced to the ground by two officers and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
...
Lavie said Grime was was completely subdued and screaming, "Help, they're going to kill me," and 'They're breaking my arm."
She said she watched as the officers roughed him up, then pulled him into the patrol car by his cuffed wrists.
"I don't care if he was drunk or what he was being arrested for, what they were doing wasn't right," she said. "I think its disgusting."
Pittman said, however, that Grime was still resisting when he was taken to the Marin County Jail booking area. As deputies attempted to take off his handcuffs, Grime suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, Pittman said.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -3
Learning Percentage: 75%
August 17, 2003
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
July 03, 2003
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
Who's Who among American Terrorists
This is a detailing of the main American citizen detainees in the "War on Terror" -- John Walker Lindh, Jose Padilla, etc. -- and the presumed reasoning behind their various legal statuses.
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
US starts to lift the veil on Camp X-Ray trials
(TruthOut permacopy)
November 26, 2003
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
By Robert Verkaik
Legal Affairs Correspondent
26 November 2003
One of the country's most senior judges launched an unprecedented attack on US treatment of the 660 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last night, saying they will become martyrs in the Muslim world.
Breaking with the convention that law lords do not speak out on politically sensitive issues, Lord Steyn described their imprisonment as a "monstrous failure of justice" and the military tribunals that will try them as kangaroo courts.
Lord Steyn, one of 12 judges who sits in the country's highest court, is understood to have been wrestling with his conscience for weeks. His comments would make it almost impossible for him to hear any appeal from the nine British prisoners held at the US naval base in Cuba if President George Bush agreed to send them for trial in this country.
...
"As a lawyer brought up to admire the ideals of American democracy and justice, I would have to say that I regard this a monstrous failure of justice. The military will act as interrogators, prosecutors and defence counsel, judges, and when death sentences are imposed, as executioners. The trials will be held in private. None of the guarantees of a fair trial need be observed."
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 25%
October 09, 2003
Capital Punishment and Texas
Capital Punishment and Texas
by Kathryn A. Graham
Interestingly enough, I had never been opposed to capital punishment, or at least, not in theory. Yes, I'm a Libertarian, and most Libertarians I have met are opposed to such taking of life, but I'd always reasoned that the person being executed had most definitely initiated the force by committing a capital crime in the first place. In addition, I felt (and, in some ways, still do feel) that keeping a person in a cage for life was cruel and unusual punishment far beyond execution.
Boy, have I ever received an education! Yep, that's right. This very stubborn and opinionated gal has had her mind changed 180 degrees, and in record time.
You see, I live in Texas.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
October 06, 2003
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, beheaded in London in 1535.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 31, 2003
Family: Police beating killed man
Family: Police beating killed man
He'd been arrested in San Rafael after calling 911
The family of a man who died after a struggle with arresting officers is accusing the Marin County Sheriff's Department of beating the man to death.
San Rafael police and the sheriff's department are conducting investigations into the mysterious death of Cary James Grime, who called 911 asking for help early Sunday and ended up being forced to the ground by two officers and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
...
Lavie said Grime was was completely subdued and screaming, "Help, they're going to kill me," and 'They're breaking my arm."
She said she watched as the officers roughed him up, then pulled him into the patrol car by his cuffed wrists.
"I don't care if he was drunk or what he was being arrested for, what they were doing wasn't right," she said. "I think its disgusting."
Pittman said, however, that Grime was still resisting when he was taken to the Marin County Jail booking area. As deputies attempted to take off his handcuffs, Grime suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, Pittman said.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -3
Learning Percentage: 75%
August 17, 2003
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
July 03, 2003
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord
By Robert Verkaik
Legal Affairs Correspondent
26 November 2003
One of the country's most senior judges launched an unprecedented attack on US treatment of the 660 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay last night, saying they will become martyrs in the Muslim world.
Breaking with the convention that law lords do not speak out on politically sensitive issues, Lord Steyn described their imprisonment as a "monstrous failure of justice" and the military tribunals that will try them as kangaroo courts.
Lord Steyn, one of 12 judges who sits in the country's highest court, is understood to have been wrestling with his conscience for weeks. His comments would make it almost impossible for him to hear any appeal from the nine British prisoners held at the US naval base in Cuba if President George Bush agreed to send them for trial in this country.
...
"As a lawyer brought up to admire the ideals of American democracy and justice, I would have to say that I regard this a monstrous failure of justice. The military will act as interrogators, prosecutors and defence counsel, judges, and when death sentences are imposed, as executioners. The trials will be held in private. None of the guarantees of a fair trial need be observed."
...
Read It Rating: 6
Left/Right Rating: L1
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 25%
Capital Punishment and Texas
Capital Punishment and Texas
by Kathryn A. Graham
Interestingly enough, I had never been opposed to capital punishment, or at least, not in theory. Yes, I'm a Libertarian, and most Libertarians I have met are opposed to such taking of life, but I'd always reasoned that the person being executed had most definitely initiated the force by committing a capital crime in the first place. In addition, I felt (and, in some ways, still do feel) that keeping a person in a cage for life was cruel and unusual punishment far beyond execution.
Boy, have I ever received an education! Yep, that's right. This very stubborn and opinionated gal has had her mind changed 180 degrees, and in record time.
You see, I live in Texas.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: R1
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 45%
October 06, 2003
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, beheaded in London in 1535.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 40%
August 31, 2003
Family: Police beating killed man
Family: Police beating killed man
He'd been arrested in San Rafael after calling 911
The family of a man who died after a struggle with arresting officers is accusing the Marin County Sheriff's Department of beating the man to death.
San Rafael police and the sheriff's department are conducting investigations into the mysterious death of Cary James Grime, who called 911 asking for help early Sunday and ended up being forced to the ground by two officers and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
...
Lavie said Grime was was completely subdued and screaming, "Help, they're going to kill me," and 'They're breaking my arm."
She said she watched as the officers roughed him up, then pulled him into the patrol car by his cuffed wrists.
"I don't care if he was drunk or what he was being arrested for, what they were doing wasn't right," she said. "I think its disgusting."
Pittman said, however, that Grime was still resisting when he was taken to the Marin County Jail booking area. As deputies attempted to take off his handcuffs, Grime suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, Pittman said.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -3
Learning Percentage: 75%
August 17, 2003
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
July 03, 2003
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535
The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More, beheaded in London in 1535.
...
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: 1
Learning Percentage: 40%
Family: Police beating killed man
Family: Police beating killed man
He'd been arrested in San Rafael after calling 911
The family of a man who died after a struggle with arresting officers is accusing the Marin County Sheriff's Department of beating the man to death.
San Rafael police and the sheriff's department are conducting investigations into the mysterious death of Cary James Grime, who called 911 asking for help early Sunday and ended up being forced to the ground by two officers and arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
...
Lavie said Grime was was completely subdued and screaming, "Help, they're going to kill me," and 'They're breaking my arm."
She said she watched as the officers roughed him up, then pulled him into the patrol car by his cuffed wrists.
"I don't care if he was drunk or what he was being arrested for, what they were doing wasn't right," she said. "I think its disgusting."
Pittman said, however, that Grime was still resisting when he was taken to the Marin County Jail booking area. As deputies attempted to take off his handcuffs, Grime suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, Pittman said.
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -3
Learning Percentage: 75%
August 17, 2003
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
July 03, 2003
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
t r u t h o u t - Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Sentencing Guidelines
The New York Times
Tuesday 12 August 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
The nation's inmate population reached 2.1 million, a record, last year. One major factor behind the increase has been the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences contained in many federal laws, especially drug laws. A second reason for the rise is the effect of federal
sentencing guidelines, which were adopted in the mid-1980's to make criminal sentences in federal cases more uniform. These two measures have both pressured judges to give longer sentences than they otherwise would.
Read It Rating: 5.5
Left/Right Rating: L2
Freedom Rating: .3
Learning Percentage: 10%
Man jailed for life after spitting
Ananova - Man jailed for life after spitting
A man who faced a year in jail for allegedly beating his wife has received a life sentence after spitting on a policeman during his arrest.
John Marquez, 36, was convicted of "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
Read It Rating: 6.5
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -8
Learning Percentage: 75%
June 27, 2003
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
t r u t h o u t - Bush Declares Student an Enemy Combatant
By Eric Lichtblau
The New York Times
Tuesday 24 June 2003
President Bush made a surprise decision today to remove a Qatari student from the criminal justice system and declare him an enemy combatant after prosecutors said new evidence linked him to another round of terrorist plots by Al Qaeda after Sept. 11.
The student, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 37, had been held in civilian custody since late 2001, first as a material witness in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks and later on charges of lying to the F.B.I. and credit card fraud.
Because he was declared an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri was moved from a prison in Illinois to a military brig in South Carolina, according to Lawrence S. Lustberg, who represented him in the criminal case. As an enemy combatant, Mr. Marri can be held indefinitely, and he has no access to a lawyer unless the military decides to bring charges, officials said.
The case represents the first time that the administration is shifting custody of someone charged by criminal prosecutors to the military as an enemy combatant, administration officials said.
Neither of the other two men publicly identified as enemy combatants, Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured in fighting in Afghanistan, and Jose Padilla, suspected in a scheme to set off a "dirty bomb," had faced criminal charges beforehand. Both are Americans
Read It Rating: 8
Left/Right Rating: 0
Freedom Rating: -10
Learning Percentage: 60%
