Number 1 reason to try the 9/11 plotters in NYC? The US Constitution

[LSK]

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#amendmentvi

I repeat: "by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed"

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I know you are right...and it is the correct thing to do...but a part of me still wishes

they were going to do this in DC.

[akbacchus_BC]

2. Aren't most of them from Saudi Arabia and not from Iraq? Just asking!

[Clio the Leo]

3. lol, yeah, but their lawyers are gonna have a go at.....

"impartial jury."

And while typically I am a strong advocate of the rights of criminal defendants, my heart forces me to conceed that they should have considered the fact that they could not get an impartial jury before they murdered my friend and 2,975 other people. ;)

[snot]

4. You know what?

I care about the Constitution, because it seems to have been one of the most successful set of axioms for government that humans have yet managed to agree on.

But what I care about just as much is justice.

Did anyone besides me hear Holder do an amazing dance today, trying to assure everyone that all 9-11 suspects WILL be convicted regardless of whatever the evidence may show -- while preserving the pretense of fair trial?

[mb7588a]

5. Yeah.

Several of the talking heads said there were only two possible choices: NYC and DC area. I think they're smart to keep this as far away from the politicians as Constitutionally allowed.

[Mind_your_head]

6. I guess I missed somthing.....who is going to trial regarding 9/11 'plotters'?

TIA

[struggle4progress]

9. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused in 9/11

[annabanana]

7. morning kick . . .n/t

[mmonk]

8. Because of the use of torture and forced confessions, the trial

may not be legitimate to Constitutional standards, and he is a known liar and grandstander as well as having been known as a killer. Our system is still not legitimate and will take real work to work as intended in the future.

[geek tragedy]

11. They won't use any statements from his torture sessions.

There are other sources of evidence--electronic and financial records, for instance.

[tavalon]

10. Damn, I didn't think we were using that thing anymore

Wasn't it labeled quaint, like the Geneva Conventions?

:sarcasm:

[LiberalFighter]

12. Too bad they can't try the 9/12 plotters.

[Phx_Dem]

13. The idiots on the right somehow think these terrorists are soldiers.

They keep comparing them to Japanese and German soldier trials in WWII. They're not soldiers and they are not part of any military group. And they didn't conspire specifically against our military or target only military installations. Their primary targets were civilians.

Someone should ask Pat Bu-fucking-canan why Tim McVeigh wasn't tried by military tribunal. How was what he did any different, other than on a smaller scale (only one location and few people killed)?

The Bushies coined the term "enemy conbatants" precisely because they understood that these terrorists were not soliders. They did it because they wanted to give themselves a reason to try them by military tribunals, which, of course, they have not done. The prosecution rate for terrorists in a military tribunal is less than 1 percent, so that's working out really well. Not.

Republicans are such chickenshits. They should be embarrassed by that and by the fact that they are insulting NYC police, counterterrorism officals, coast guards, national guards and anyone else that is responsible for protecting NY City during a trial by saying outright that they are unable to do their jobs and protect the city.

[LSK]

14. these guys were picked up in Pakistan by our Intelligence

They were not picked up on some battlefield. We have no troops in Pakistan - or we shouldn't have any.

[Phx_Dem]

15. Yeah, the argument for military tribunals is absurd. Aside from the

fact they have not been successful and have tried exactly no one (according to NY Times editorial).

[GoCubsGo]

16. Jim Webb is using the same arguement

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/11/webb_on_terror_trials.php#more?ref=fpblg

I have high respect for Jim Webb, but he's wrong on this one.