American Justice Gone Awry
First, a few must-read links:
Reason magazine's preeminent civil liberties journalist Radley Balko, whose work I've praised here previously, had a great article in last month's issue, now available online about an innocent family that got ensnared in the corrupt web of drug war enforcement, and the equally corrupt world of jailhouse snitching that is fueled by the drug war. The basic gist of the article is that a federal prosecutor knew that the witnesses he was using to convict a family for a drug laundering operation had credibility problems (indeed, were outright lying), and he still persued his prosecution. Thankfully, this family was eventually exonerated.
Next, another great (and even more disturbing) pair of articles from the brilliant Nat Hentoff (here & here) about German citizen Murat Kurnaz. Kurnaz, who has no ties whatsoever to terrorism, was apprehended in Pakistan (the Pakistani government received a $3000 bounty for him from you and me), tortured at a black site, tortured him in Guantanamo, then held for over 3 years on continuously trumped-up charges even though US military intelligence cleared him of any terrorist connections. While he is now free and back in Germany, and despite his INNOCENCE being proven, he is still labeled by our government as an enemy combatant.
Just what the hell is going on with our justice system? How is it that we have an executive branch that has completely defecated on due process and rule of law?? How is it we have a legislative branch that has seemingly turned a blind eye to this attack on our rights? And a judicial branch which unanimously affirms the erosion of due process??
Which begs the next question: Does this election even matter?? I seriously have my doubts.
Hillary Clinton is a proponent of executive power, having voted for the shameless power-grabs the Bush administration has received from Congress.
John McCain's core political philosophy is one of authoritarianism. Don't expect any assistance from him regarding the recklessness of the drug war or torture.
Barack Obama is held up by many as the best hope for restoring the Constitution. This despite the fact that he supported renewal of the PATRIOT Act (with some alleged reforms to it). This despite the fact that when presented with opportunities to take a stand against warrantless wiretaps and torture, Senator Obama was AWOL. This despite his waffling on the issue of marijuana decriminalization.
The boogeyman used by both left- and right-wingers during presidential elections is the Supreme Court, and the likelihood of the President to nominate justices that hold extreme ideological views. But with the Supreme Court unanimously voting, as in all 9 justices (left-leaning and right-leaning) voting, to allow evidence seized in an unlawful arrest to be used against someone, just how much does the "ideology" of justices really matter any more?
It's too bad all the excitement over this year's "historic" presidential campaign will likely result in complete irrelevance.
Reason magazine's preeminent civil liberties journalist Radley Balko, whose work I've praised here previously, had a great article in last month's issue, now available online about an innocent family that got ensnared in the corrupt web of drug war enforcement, and the equally corrupt world of jailhouse snitching that is fueled by the drug war. The basic gist of the article is that a federal prosecutor knew that the witnesses he was using to convict a family for a drug laundering operation had credibility problems (indeed, were outright lying), and he still persued his prosecution. Thankfully, this family was eventually exonerated.
Next, another great (and even more disturbing) pair of articles from the brilliant Nat Hentoff (here & here) about German citizen Murat Kurnaz. Kurnaz, who has no ties whatsoever to terrorism, was apprehended in Pakistan (the Pakistani government received a $3000 bounty for him from you and me), tortured at a black site, tortured him in Guantanamo, then held for over 3 years on continuously trumped-up charges even though US military intelligence cleared him of any terrorist connections. While he is now free and back in Germany, and despite his INNOCENCE being proven, he is still labeled by our government as an enemy combatant.
Just what the hell is going on with our justice system? How is it that we have an executive branch that has completely defecated on due process and rule of law?? How is it we have a legislative branch that has seemingly turned a blind eye to this attack on our rights? And a judicial branch which unanimously affirms the erosion of due process??
Which begs the next question: Does this election even matter?? I seriously have my doubts.
Hillary Clinton is a proponent of executive power, having voted for the shameless power-grabs the Bush administration has received from Congress.
John McCain's core political philosophy is one of authoritarianism. Don't expect any assistance from him regarding the recklessness of the drug war or torture.
Barack Obama is held up by many as the best hope for restoring the Constitution. This despite the fact that he supported renewal of the PATRIOT Act (with some alleged reforms to it). This despite the fact that when presented with opportunities to take a stand against warrantless wiretaps and torture, Senator Obama was AWOL. This despite his waffling on the issue of marijuana decriminalization.
The boogeyman used by both left- and right-wingers during presidential elections is the Supreme Court, and the likelihood of the President to nominate justices that hold extreme ideological views. But with the Supreme Court unanimously voting, as in all 9 justices (left-leaning and right-leaning) voting, to allow evidence seized in an unlawful arrest to be used against someone, just how much does the "ideology" of justices really matter any more?
It's too bad all the excitement over this year's "historic" presidential campaign will likely result in complete irrelevance.
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