Let's suppose that I, John Q. Public, a natural-born citizen of the United States of America, confess, on national television, that I was materially involved in kidnapping and unlawfully detaining some number of individuals over a period of several years.
Let's suppose that I confess, further, to subjecting many of these kidnapped individuals to cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment throughout the course of their unlawful detention -- indeed, that ample testimonial, audio, video, and photographic evidence of said treatment is available.
Beyond that, let's suppose that some of the cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment to which I have subjected these kidnapped and unlawfully detained individuals over a period of several years exceeded long-established legal definitions of torture -- codified in the laws of the United States and in international treaties and conventions to which the United States is a signatory.
And even further still, let's suppose I must also admit that, as it happened, in the course of being kidnapped, unlawfully detained, and subjected to cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment (including torture), some of these individuals have died. Indeed, let's suppose that highly qualified and very competent medical professionals, having examined the corpses of the dead, conclude that "homicide" defined the manner of death of some of the individuals whose lives ended under these circumstances. In other words, what if I were to summarily confess that some of the people whom I have kidnapped, unlawfully detained, and subjected to cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment were, ultimately, tortured to death?
Gosh! What's my legal liability, Mr. President, AG Holder? I'm hopin' I can simply resolve, with your consent, to kidnap, unlawfully detain, torture, and torture-murder no more, and that, together, we can just focus on the way forward. Whaddaya think? Really, what I am hopin' for is that my legal predicament would be no different than that of former Vice President, Richard Bruce Cheney -- a man who has himself confessed . . . rather, a man who has boasted on national television about having actually been engaged in much of what I have described above.
What's your take on this?
UPDATE: Sent this note to President Obama and AG Holder via White House and DOJ websites.