The Anonymous Widower

The Trial of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed

The attacks of September 11th will always leave an indelible mark on my mind.

It is absolutely right that he is being brought to trial in a civilian court on the mainland of the United States.  Just because someone is accused of probably the worst crime of this century, it doesn’t mean that he should not be given the same rights as to someone who has committed a much lesser crime.  In both cases too, we should ensure that the standard of justice is impeccable. 

In fact, you could argue that we should make sure that terrorists are tried by the best judges, prosecuted by the best and most persuasive lawyers and defended by the most innovative and most-respected counsel, as we must attempt to persuade the terrorists followers, that what they did was completely wrong.  If there is any chance of a bias or a mistake in the trial, then you will act as a recruiting sergeant.

What is not right is for President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, to call for the death penalty.  For a start, I believe strongly that the death penalty should have been consigned to the dustbin of history many years ago.  I have many reasons, least of which is the fact that miscarriages of justice can’t be rectified.  I also believe that just because someone is an objectionable human being, we shouldn’t descend to their level.

So President Obama may have gone up in my estimation by trying Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, but he totally loses respect for calling for the ultimate penalty.  Does he want the United States to be bracketed with Iran, China and North Korea as those who feel that the death penalty should be retained and used with relish.

In fact, I suspect that the defendants will want to be executed, as this will give them immortality and more publicity for their vile and backward, nihilistic cause.

He also has a difficult problem to overcome.

According to this article in The Times, Khaled Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003.  Now that wasn’t down to Obama, but his predecessor.  But can anybody tell me what was the point?  I’ve met quite a few senior policemen, who have interrogated some of the nastiest criminals.  I doubt they would have found that using the same dubious technique that number of times would have been at all productive.

It is probably not the fact that they used the technique that will cause the problem, but the fact that defence counsel will make sure that it is broadcast all round the world. 

Those 183 times will be the another impeccably dressed recruiting sergeant for Muslim terrorist organisations.

They may also result in a wrong judgement after the trial.  I hope not, as that would be a disaster for us all.

November 14, 2009 - Posted by AnonW | News | Barack Obama, Capital Punishment, United States