Friday, June 17, 2005

A prosecutor's dream

I heard on a program, can't remember which news program, but it's not on cable, that when some of the detainees are put on trial, they will be tried with evidence that they will not be allowed to see, nor will their counsel be allowed to cross-examine on. The reason given was that some of this evidence is either itself classified, or comes from classified sources, and if divulged, it could either endanger American life in the field or cause the loss of that source of intelligence.

Nutshell: We're going to try you using evidence you can't see, and you don't get to defend yourself from it.

That just doesn't sound like a fair trial to me. I understand that this is going to be a war crimes trial, and international law runs the show, not American law, but, something stinks really rotten here. If a person is put on trial, be it an enemy or an ally, it seems to be of utmost importance that the person be given the best opportunity to defend himself or herself. Otherwise, the appearance of impropriety at the very least will seep in. Lord knows, if I were to be put on trial for something, I'd want to be able to confront those who accuse me, and know not just what I'm being tried for, but what types of proof they have...

2 comments:

Michelle said...

OMG, is this true? That is insane. Surely International Law must step in?

Steve said...

I heard it on some program I think. I can't provide a source, so I'm not going to call this a fact situation. I would hope that it's not true.