The Supreme Court has handed the Bush Administration a third rebuke on the President's efforts to hold terror detainees outside the protections of U.S. law. The ruling opens the door for suspected terrorists to seek release through federal courts.
11th District Republican Congressional candidate Carl Mumpower questioned the provision of Constitutional protections for non-citizens, but applauded the court's call for action. "Holding people, even bad people, for indefinite periods of time without charges and trials is against everything that is America," said Mumpower. "I'll leave the Constitutional arguments to the scholars, but America is not about putting people in detention for 5 years without judicial consideration of guilt or innocence."
"Had the Bush Administration implemented a proper and timely judicial process, it is doubtful we would be in this place," said Mumpower. "The Nuremburg trials of 1945 offer a model that has firm application for today's reality." "That proceeding supported the rule of law with fair and swift justice that has withstood the eyes of time."
"We all understand that many of these detainees are dangerous men and appreciate the President's efforts to protect us," noted Mumpower. "There are also dangers in indifference to the core principles that make us who we are as a country."
"Guantanamo's reality is an embarrassment to America," said Mumpower. "Anyone brought there should be tried on a timely basis and sentenced or let go based on the evidence in hand." "We can kill them if they return, but we should not kill America's belief in the fair application of justice. We applied these principles to the leaders of Germany responsible for the deaths of over 50 million people. Nothing in our values has changed since that time and we need to work hard to keep it that way. Otherwise the terrorists in jail end up doing us more harm than the ones freely roaming the world."
Carl Mumpower
11th District Republican Congressional Candidate
Principles before party, power, or popularity-always.
Carl Mumpower Website
For my commentary on the decision, see this post.
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