Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first Guantanamo Bay prisoner to be tried in a civil court, was acquitted yesterday on all but one of the 285 charges against him, so this nation was that close to having a freed terrorist walking through our culs-de-sac, stealing our children’s bikes out of front yards and strapping bombs to our four-wheelers in the garage. Ghailani was convicted of “one count of conspiracy to destroy government buildings and property” in some 1998 embassy attacks, but really, what American hasn’t conspired to destroy a little bit of government property in his or her day? This case proves we can never bring another terrorist into court, because there is a good chance they will be declared innocent by a bunch of NO-GOOD TERRORIST-SYMPATHIZING “AMERICANS,” even if they are, well, innocent, despite all the years of torture.
On the eve of Mr. Ghailani’s trial last month, the government lost a key ruling that may have seriously damaged its chances of winning convictions.
In the ruling, the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan, barred prosecutors from using an important witness against Mr. Ghailani because the government had learned about the man through Mr. Ghailani’s interrogation while he was in C.I.A. custody, where his lawyers say he was tortured.
So the moral of this story is that we need to waterboard our judges too, until they do what we want.
Throughout the case, Mr. Ghailani seemed at ease with his lawyers, smiling frequently. After the verdict was read, he hugged them warmly.
Now that is horrifying, because terrorists hate Americans. The only way a terrorist could hug an American is if 1) he has a bomb strapped to him, 2) the American is also a secret terrorist, or 3) it was a mistake to take him to the secret CIA prisons because he wasn’t involved in terrorism he’s skydiving.
But maybe the jury was right to keep around that single measly count after all:
Mr. Ghailani, who remains in custody, faces 20 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 25.
Better life in prison than sorry, we always say, when it comes to guys who seem like they’re maybe innocent despite years of imprisonment and torture.
And no, don’t you go saying we shouldn’t torture. At this point, torture is America’s BRAND. The world is very aware of this brand, and that sort of thing takes a lot of hard work. [NYT]
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Gee he was over charged with a lot of bogus charges? I can't believe law enforcement, the mititary and a Federal prosecutor would do such a thing.
I can't believe he beat the Lincoln assassination charge!
Thats ok each of the 285 counts carried a 20 to life sentence. This guy must have been some sort of terrorist mastermind.. or was he another of Osama Bin Ladin's cooks? Who can really know. Thankfully we have torture to help us out figure out who the bad guys are.
It's less that they were necessarily bogus charges, and more that most of the evidence for those charges was fruit of the waterboarded tree. Still, it's hard to imagine that such a thing would allow the alleged terrorists to win (in court), right?
Sounds like the work of a bunch of gay-loving America-hating activist jurors.
285? Was one of the charges singing "Afternoon Delight" in a karaoke bar?
That's only chargeable if sung as a duet with an immediate family member. (blatantly stolen from Arrested Development)
I tend to disagree. Singing that song under any circumstances should result in punishment by the worst death imaginable.
Aggravated loitering,
conspiracy with intent to jaywalk,
littering in the first degree,
&c.
Ripping the label off a mattress.
Removal of rock from State Park.
Was on Santa's naughty list for 2 years.
This is why these things should be settled by the good voters of DWTS.
I know they are astute talent judges.
Boo Rule of Law! Bagram or bust.
Agree. All this is going to do is replace torture with assassination. No point in torturing detainees if the courts then throw out the evidence/confession. Immediate execution is going to gain a lot of supporters. Not that it isn't already being done.
Before long only millionaire reptilians will get the old-fashioned court and trial, with presumption of innocence, habeas corpus, no self-incrimination, etc. Soon, the majority will get the new improved tribunals where we are always guilty, even when confessions are not tortured out of us. Assuming we are not just killed as "terrorists" after an ex-bf/gf/spouse/employer buys a death warrant.
As Meatloaf said, One out of Two Hundred Eighty Five Ain't Bad.
I waterboarded you, I beat you, but there ain't no way I'm ever gonna release you…
If John Bolton had been on that jury, it would have been a clean sweep. Embassies! Bah!
…out, damned spot…
This was that evil bastard whose crime against humanity was to shoot back at the army of invading US Troops that were shooting at him, right?
Whatever happened to that American hero who uttered the brave rallying cry, during the invasion of Iraq, my favorite words, "The bitch got in the way?"
That's a lot of legal poo thrown at the wall.
That 0.35% conviction rate is really difficult for me to stomach – I have the prosecutors in my US Attorney fantasy league.
inb4 Liz Cheney shitstorm
Don't tell anyone I used to knock mailboxes off with a baseball bat – I could be charged with terrorism! Is there a statute of limitations on mailbox baseball? Anyone?
Next thing you know Obamar will be hanging a Medal of Honor on the tearist.
If the guy is brown you know he's up to no good. Punish first. Work them over. Beat it out of them, if you have to, but get the goods. 'Cause if they're brown you know they're dirty and need a bath (chemical peel) to make them more white, that is why we waterboard. They are angry because they are brown and will all calm down when cleaned 'er waterboarded.
Clean is serene.
Now our courts have been feminized, too?!
In a democracy, It doesn't help that one half of our population comes pre-feminized.
O Rly? Babs Bush and Maggie Thatcher, for examples, are not, and never were, feminized.
I sure didn't think Rudy could beat all the charges…wait, who? An Ay-rab? THE SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK! Rule of law is only for non-Muslins! If you laugh at our courts, you don't get to use 'em! You only get a fair trial if we know the outcome in advance!
hmmm, tough decision, Ghailani vs Giuliani…hell I'll take the A-rab fer the KILL (er, I mean WIN!)
This is an outrage, New York should execute Giuliani right now!
I was recently tortured after being caught speeding past an elementary school. Fortunately, the cops also tortured that kindergardener who had started onto the street as I blew by, so his testimony is worthless. I'm getting off on all counts, suckers !
I was recently tortured after being caught driving real (and I mean REAL) slow past an elementary school.
Hmmm — convicting a terrorist in a court of law is bad because why — it destroys marriage? It's fascism? It disrupts unit cohesion? It's a government takeover of the courts? Yeah, that's it — Keep Big Government's Hands Off My Court System! That oughta keep the lefties baffled for a while.
Yep, it's a slippery slope until we're convicting toasters and dogs and frogs. Just you wait and see.
Hats off to you, sir, for this humorous expose' of the intellectual and logical bankruptcy of the reasons behind the GOP opposition to pretty much everything they are against. When one's real reason for a position is racism, or hate, or something criminal or venal, it can become difficult to come up with a pretense, as the GOP is displaying amply. Bravo!
There are an amazing amount of people in the United States who seem to confuse "justice" with "revenge". The simple reason folks have pushed for military tribunals is this: it is much easier to just find everybody guilty that way, with none of that pesky "evidence" getting in the way.
She's a witch! She turned me into a newt! I got better!
Are you saying that the reason we have courts, prisons, police, prosecutors and our beloved gas chambers is not to provide therapy for relatives of crime victims? Why do you hate America, Goober?
Pulling out an Andy Griffith reference on me? I'm ashamed to say I didn't see that coming! (Though it now occurs to me why nobody in my immediate family was named "George".)
I've been hearing relatives say, for decades, "why don't the police just shoot them, if they know they are guilty?" Of course, it's always someone else who's guilty.
See what happens when you liberals insist on following the Constitution? Now this guy is found innocent just because he didn't do what the government claimed he did, even though his skin is brown.
We didn't mean THAT part of the constitution- we hate THAT part! What's the part about not mixing Muslim and Government? THAT is the part we love!!
If the Founding Fathers didn't want us detaining people indefinitely without due process of the law, they would have put something that in the Constitution.
I know the news (lamestream media, ha ha, so much clever) won't bother delving into much more detailed analysis than "1/285, or 284/285, depending on how you look at it," but, the government actually tried the military commissions thing and guess what, all the prosecutors quit because they really liked being licensed attorneys and pretty much figured if they worked the commissions they were guaranteed to be disbarred at some point. They did try one guy, Bin Laden's driver, in the nine fucking years since September 11, and he got like 6 years, which is 14 years less than this guy will serve at the very minimum, but when all your lawyers quit over ethics concerns and you manage to try one case a decade, well, your system is pretty fucked up. But no matter, let's all go back to that system, because America, 9/11, freedom!, patriotism, and President Commumuslim McDestroystheconstitutionalot.
Obviously the military tribunal system needs a little "streamlining." They've already gotten rid of the right to confront your accusers, and the right not to be tortured into testifying against yourself, and the right to habeas corpus, and right to counsel is pretty much on life support. These guys, the ones who stayed on, must really be fuck-ups.
I agree, but the scary part is not just the threat to the Constitution but the possible rise of vigilantes, summary executions and other developments that will make the courts, Congress and the law meaningless. For fascism, this is Miracle-Gro.
Nuthin says U-S-A! like a good old fashioned lynch mob! It's in teh constitution! The right to use arms against your enemies – foreign, domestic, real, imagined, elected, WHATEVER!!!
Well, vigilantes were common well into the 20th century. No reason they can't make a come-back.
Clearly those wimpy lawyers need to get Shrub's lawyers, because if his lawyers said it was legal, it was legal, ipso facto QED, quorum for boners, motherfucker.
fucking WIN! ( a little wordy but still, NAILED IT!)
His sentence should be commuted to having to read Newt's Valley Forge cover-to-cover. You see, I am hard on terrorists.
And to read Decision Points 100 times!
oh sure, we see you got a hard on for terrierists…and who wouldn't, they're so cute and cuddly, and brown!
This will SO stiffen the spine of the Administration to try KSM in a US District (i.e., actual) Court. What's that? No spine, ever? Never mind.
If they had run him through a TSA scanner, they could have seen what evil really lurked in the heart of Ghailani. Those things are supposed to be able to peer into your soul!
When Dick Cheney goes through, do they get a 404 error?
I hear they explode. That's the real reason he can't fly anymore- except when he's in his bat form.
Sure, if we can't find the innocent guilty in a court of law, we'll create an entirely new venue to pervert justice in.
Only then will America be safe with Liberty (teabagger brand Liberty on-a-stick only) and Justice (ooop's, none of that actually) for All (are you rich? then no, not for you, back to work, "sandwich artist").
He's also going to have to spend that 20 to life in a naked picture machine, photographed over and over again by TSA trainees.
That's basically what Abu Gharib was, right?
This gets not only an IntenseDebate thumb-up, but this…
http://junkbrosnews.com/images/prisonerabuse5.jpg
Ah, Lindey or whatever redneck misspelled name you had, we hardly knew ye.
I'm so proud. That's like the Good Ass-Raping Seal of Approval.
Wait I thought Mayor Ghailani hated the terrorists and shepherded America's greatest city through the worst terror attack ever. Now this?
I'm so confused.
Hey look over there, something shiny.
Squirrel!
Heh, that always gets me.
Heh, me too (I love squirrels!)
"If FILL IN THE BLANK, then the terrorists win."
Looks like the terrorist really DID win.
BTW, when can we water board Jeff Dunham?
I wonder if he can still make the dummy speak while being water boarded.
The purpose of terrorism is to PO the authorities into over-reacting and making a lot of enemies. Bin Laden (or whomever) is succeeding.
Though the article doesn't state it outright, my guess is Mr. Ghailani's lawyers were New York Joo lawyers, and the fact that he hugged them upon the reading of the verdict proves that yes, we CAN all get along.
Well, a .003 batting average beats a .000 batting average anyday in my book.
And yet, somehow, Dick n' Dub wander about freely, shilling books and "Keepin' 'Murica Safe"™ even when evidence couldn't be submitted due to torture.What has become of us?
By these rules, we should be able to torture Cheney and Dubya to get them to admit war crimes. Just like the wingnuts, I'm willing to abandon the bourgeois concepts of "fairness" and "justice" if they're inconvenient, or get in the way of the result I want, or if I can make me lots of money by ignoring them, or if I can trample on the ideas in secret forever because it's classified, or if…well, any fucking thing, really.
The bourgeois concepts of "fairness" and "justice" only has ever applied to the bourgeois, guys like "Dick and Du(m)b" anyway. And their now-found tea-bearers. Compare James O'keefe's treatment with the guy who hacked Palin's email.
Speaking of bourgeois, even NPR was getting on on the fun last night. "This will make it so much harder for Obama to close Gitmo" without saying something like "because then they'd have to let those innocent guys free too."
And yet OJ is still a free man.
Well, technically he's in jail, but still….
They are tormenting me with their continued existence.
Let me guess, the one charge they got to stick was for murdering his teevee.
I've got 284 problems but a conviction aint one…
If you're having girl problems, I've got news for you, son — Sharia Law. Use it.
Reading through the comments on NPR was bad enough – I can't even imagine going to Yahoo, CNN or (shudder) RedState.
According to NPR the verdict somehow calls into question the government's to hold trials "safely." No word on why this wasn't safe unless they meant like "safety school."
I'm disappointed — all that torture and we can't get a confession & conviction?
And the likes of Lindsey Graham have spoken:
The fact that most of the charges were thrown out because the only evidence for them came from torture is clearly a sign that we should be using military commissions (which have the same standards when it comes to evidence obtained from torture, BTW) rather than civilian courts, and totally not the thing where torturing detainess apparently made a number of actual dangerous terrorists impossible to convict, anywhere, because we all know that torture helped keep America safe, in Bizarro-World.
Ham-biscuits are not Halal, so I think we ought to listen to Lindsay. He's a Real American… Even if "non-traditional" (to use the gay-baiting parlance of that great "liberal" scholar, Gregggggggggg Easterbrook).
Joe, we'd be safe iffin' we could just shoot all the torturers, all the attorneys, all the judges, all non-white people, and all the white people. Yeah, that's the ticket, we'd be dead safe.
Almost all of them were individual murder charges for each of the people killed in the bombings. If any of the 9/11'ers has survived, presumably they would have had 3,000+ counts each.
Sheesh. If Justice wasn't already blind, she probably would have been, after the CIA got through with her.
284 of 285 will now rank up there with 25 or 6 to 4 and 8675309.
I've had it with these activist juries. Time to return to the tried-and-true method of throwing these perps into a pond. If they sink, they were innocent. If they float they are witches. It was good enough for the founding fathers.
"Comedian" Jeff Dunham, famous for his racist puppets.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-jeff-dunham-sh...
And this is why we have to kill all these bastards on the battlefield. Or in the ditch out behind the firebase. Whatever. Before you start howling remember this approach worked pretty well with a lot of fanatical Japanese and SS men…
You want your opponents to surrender, not fight to the end. That way, you are more likely to stay alive yourself.
The best thing of all is, get your enemies to switch sides, become your allies.
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