"President Bush claims the power to set aside habeas corpus and to dispense with warrants for arrest and with procedures that guarantee court appearance and trial without undue delay. Today in the US, the executive branch claims the power to arrest a citizen on its own initiative and hold the citizen indefinitely. Thus, Americans are no longer protected from arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention."
This statement is true. And we should take the situation more seriously. Have you heard about Army Chaplain James Yee? He was wrongly accused and emprisoned without any of legal protections we take for granted. His crime? serving as chaplain in Guantanamo, and informing about the complaints of prisoners for abuses,
especially those regarding the handling of the Koran.
You may read about it here: Fmr. Army Chaplain James Yee on the Abuse of Prisoners at Guantanamo, His Wrongful Imprisonment and Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the Military
This is what is at stake:
When the protective features of the law are removed, law becomes a weapon. Habeas corpus, due process, the attorney-client privilege, no crime without intent, and prohibitions against torture and ex post facto laws are the protective features that shield the accused. These protective features are being removed by zealotry in the "war against terrorism."
The damage terrorists can inflict pales in comparison to the loss of the civil liberties that protect us from the arbitrary power of law used as a weapon. The loss of law as Blackstone�s shield of the innocent would be catastrophic. It would mean the end of America as a land of liberty. October 8, 2005
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