PADILLA VERDICT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

[kpete]

HUGE Victory For Bush Admin

Just Now On CNN

Jose Padilla is found guilty on charges he conspired to kill people in an overseas jihad and to fund and support overseas terrorism.

http://www.cnn.com/

[karlrschneider]

1. Figures...

:eyes:

[truebrit71]

2. Big surprise there....

...:eyes:

[wicket]

10. YUP

:eyes:

[yardwork]

3. Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

I'm ashamed of our country.

[dailykoff]

4. Oh barf.

Florida justice rapes us once again.

[spanone]

5. maybe they'll hang him on American Idol????

:sarcasm:

[johnfunk]

6. "HUUUGE" victory? Try "No surprise"...

The withdrawal of "enemy combatant" status and substitution of charges far easier to prove should surprise nobody.

[L. Coyote]

14. huuuge EMBARRASSMENT and a propaganda tool

"Bush administration portrayed Padilla, a U.S. citizen and Muslim convert, as a committed terrorist who was part of an al-Qaida plot to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the U.S. The administration called his detention an important victory in the war against terrorism, not long after the Sept. 11 attacks."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/16/AR2007081601009.html

[EFerrari]

7. I hate these people. WE HAVE TO FIGHT THIS.

:nuke:

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Yeah, this is what JUSTICE has been reduced to in Bush's 'Merika.

[marmar]

9. Unbelievable.....

Jack McCoy wouldn't even try that flimsy a case on "Law and Order." I would hope there is an appeal.

[atreides1]

11. All the Jury Saw

Were Muslims, and nothing else mattered. I think their decision was made before the opening statements.

So now Bush can declare any American citizen as an enemy combatant and lock them up without charges, because America is no longer the "home of the brave", more like the home of the cowering masses.

[marmar]

13. "Were Muslims, and nothing else mattered."

Sadly, I think that you're right on the money.

[shance]

21. We are all Muslims to the Bush Administration.

n/t

[EFerrari]

39. Exactly. n/t

[ccpup]

12. I suspect his case

is ripe for Appeal. I mean, with the injustices shown him there has to be SOMETHING his Attorney can do to make this anything but the last word.

[Maat]

15. And, the judge wouldn't allow this defense, or that defense ..

and this evidence wouldn't be allowed, or that, or the defense attorneys couldn't use this defense or that defense ...

what a travesty of 'justice!'

[Buzz Clik]

16. The fact the Padilla was tried at all is a huge victory for every citizen of this country.

Thank God for that.

[BlooInBloo]

18. A huge victory over a low bar.

[Buzz Clik]

It's not a bar at all -- it's a simple right for people in this country that had been suspended.

[EFerrari]

19. Imho, we're aiming low. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

24. I'm not sure I understand your point. Ensuring that our rights are honored is a noble objective.

If, however, our goal is to pre-determine who is guilty and who is not, then we've gotten confused.

[BlooInBloo]

26. Woohoo!!!! I inhaled my first breath this morning!!!! A HUGE victory for life.

[Buzz Clik]

28. Do you ever give a straight answer?

I can appreciate a smartass as much as anyone, but sometimes it's useful to cut the shit and say what's on your mind.

[BlooInBloo]

34. I typed a word!! a HUGE victory in my quest to write a book! woohoo!!!

[Buzz Clik]

37. cute.

I'll put you on ignore until you get past this childishness.

[BlooInBloo]

38. I'm crushed.

[EFerrari]

27. To be more clear: why are we happy he got a trial at all?

He is a US citizen. You or I could, under current law and policy, be picked up and tortured and destroyed mentally and the wingnut media could spin it as a victory against terra.

I'm not claiming to know the facts of this case in any way. But clearly, the way this man was handled is a crime all by itself.

And all of us are vulnerable to the same handling.

[Buzz Clik]

30. I am in no way defending the bastards who, in all likelihood, tortured him.

And, I'm disappointed that aspect was not resolved to our satisfaction.

But keep in mind that this administration has been trying for six solid years to concentrate as much power as possible, strip away as many rights as possible, and really stick it to those who cannot defend themselves. This is not the ultimate victory for those who support enforcing our Constitutional rights, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.

I cannot label this as a victory for BushCo

[EFerrari]

I really am confused. How is this a step in the right direction? n/t

[Buzz Clik]

33. Because it took 3.5 years just to get him a trial.

Left unchecked, the Bushies would have put him away forever.

We lost a lot of ground post-9/11 as Congress enabled the President to grab authoritative powers. It will take a long time to reclaim those powers, particularly in light of our chickenshit Democrat-controlled Congress.

[EFerrari]

35. Got it. You're right about that. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

17. Looky that! Torture works!

:puke:

[shance]

20. Padilla, Peltier, etc. When they are wrongly accused,everyone is vulnerable.

Fight the wrong that is being enacted.

It affects all of us.

[mmonk]

22. Yes, it does.

People just don't realize it. But the US is not a free country with guaranteed rights. It's a damn lie. Torture is now a viable method of police work. America is no different than a Syria or Saudi Arabia now. It's a shithole.

[techhead]

40. America is no different than a Syria or Saudi Arabia now.

I do not think you've actually visited those countries!

In fact, not an hour ago I was enjoying legal internet porn and I have yet to be punished ;)

I am immensely happy Padilla got a trial, because now he has the option to appeal and appeal until justice is served. He also has the right to sue the government for his treatment while incarcerated. This is a good thing.

[hfojvt]

32. I have not been following this case

Is there a summary somewhere that shows his innocence? Was he some kind of activist, like Peltier? I am not convinced of the innocence of Peltier either, although I almost bought some of his artwork (it was sold out before I could). Yes, I saw the recent Peltier thread.

[Jack Rabbit]

23. It is not a huge victory for the Bush Regime. It is a major defeat for the junta.

It was never Mr. Padilla's guilt of innocence that was the issue. The issue was whether this trial should be held.

That there was a trial is a victory for the forces of due process and human rights. In case anybody needs to be told, that's not the Bush Junta.

The issues as to whether Mr. Padilla was denied due process as a result of his long detention and alleged torture are matters best determined by a higher court. Otherwise, a jury has found him guilty of conspiring with terrorists and I am satisfied with that verdict.

That Padilla was found guilty should prove that open trials are sufficient to determine the guilt or innocence of any one -- any one -- suspected of aiding terrorist seeking to attack the United States.

We don't need secret prisons. We don't need torture (which isn't reliable any way). We don't need indefinite detention. The judicial system wasn't broken until the tyrant Bush fixed it.

Now let's dismantle the secret prisons and the torture chambers. Let's abolish the military commissions. Let's repeal the police state legislation passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks. If any inmate in Guantánamo or elsewhere is suspected of a crime, put him on trial in open court. We have nothing to fear from giving any suspect of any crime the justice he deserves simply from the self-evident fact that he was born human.

As for Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, Mr. Gonzales and the other tyrants who planned and implemented wholesale human rights violations to which Mr. Padilla was subjected and a war of imperialist aggression to which the people of Iraq and America have subjected, they should be removed and office and put on trial for their crimes -- with all due process, of course.

[Buzz Clik]

25. I agree. n/t

[KamaAina]

29. So why did they go through all that "enemy combatant" rigmarole?

when they could have just had a trial and gotten on with life?

Oh, right, same reason dogs lick themselves: because they could.

P.S. Will the 3 and a half years Padilla has been held as an "enemy combatant" count as time served? Stay tuned...

[DU GrovelBot]

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[spanone]

36. 3 1/2 years in a military prison with no lawyer / not read his miranda rights

The charges brought in civilian court in Miami, however, were a pale shadow of those initial claims in part because Padilla, 36, was interrogated about the plot when he was held as an enemy combatant for 3 1/2 years in military custody with no lawyer present and was not read his Miranda rights.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3488260