Padilla's rights upheld, but still detained
The article says, 'Dirty bomb' suspect can have access to attorneys - but shouldn't it read, Innocent until proven guilty Citizen of the United States right's upheld?The fact is this is a citizen of the United States of America - born and raised here. He has been held by the military, without trial, hearing and counsel, since May - that would be 8 months. The Bush claim is that Amendment V to the US Constitution, which reads:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time
of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to
be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal
case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation.
does not apply to Padilla, because he has not been charged with any crime and
President Bush's decision to detain him as an enemy combatant in time of war "is
a military and political judgment not subject to reassessment by the courts."
Welcome to the slippery slope. By continuing to unconstitutionally imprison Padilla, the Administration is creating a precedent where it can unilaterally imprison anyone it wants. China detains citizens for months and years without trial, and we baulk at their human rights abuse. Why is this different?
Lets review, a citizen of the United States of America is:
- Being detained, without counsel [Amend. V]
- Being detained, without any due process [Amend. V]
- Denied a public and speedy trial [Amend. VI]
- Denied bail hearing [Amend. VIII]
- The Administration claims this citizen has no constitutional rights
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry,
Comments
Post a comment
This is the permanent home of Padilla's rights upheld, but still detained. I wrote this post at 12:39 on December 4, 2002. This post is part of grubbykid.com, a weblog. If you liked this entry, why don't you read some other posts such as Parking Spots or You're not successful until...? Or you could go to the site archives or return home. All are good choices.
