For the armchair patriots (and self-proclaimed "attorneys"):
From the Magna Carta, agreed to by King John over 800 years ago and tossed aside by George W. Bush and his thugs:
"39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land."
cs.indiana.edu
From the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, founding documents of the American republic, tossed aside by George W. Bush and his thugs:
Article 1, Section 9:
"The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."
"Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
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."
law.cornell.edu
The rights and liberties guaranteed in these documents embody many of the values that have set the United States apart from the Iraqs of the world. And this administration, with the support of a small minority of would-be thugs, is destroying that difference. M2 |
