Two terrorists amongst us have gotten their due today.
first the valedictorian from virginia,
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, has been convicted of 9 counts of conspiracy including one to go after president bush.
http://www.usatoday.com/...
He is facing life in prison.
His main defense was that he was tortured by saudi authorities and that his confession was under duress, and that he had the marks on his body to prove such was the case.
However, these were not allowed in to evidence as far as we know.
now a jury has found him guilty.
questions remain, however,
why was abu ali not extradited until it became necessary due to the insistence of family members in us federal court?
why would abu ali, a high school valedictorian, concont a plan so implausible and so treachorous as alleged?
What if he was tortured in saudi jail and had no choice but to say what they wanted him to say?
After all, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that the US now facilitates the torturing of prisoners throughout the world.
On another note, Jose Padilla, after being held without charge for entire years, has finally been charged with a crime, but not just one crime, actually 3 crimes. http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
The question is, should US citizens be kept in custody for 3 years without any charges being presented?
Is our justice system working properly?
Now, I have no idea whether these people are innocent or guilty, but I do believe that our system of justice has not acted optimally in both of these cases.
Further, Without a system in which we can place faith, how can we place any faith in the charges that may stem from such a system.
I mean, if people can be held for years in a saudi prison, or for years in an american prison, without charge, and without access to proper judicial review, then isnt our system failing all of us?