Jose Padilla
Remember Jose Padilla, the
guy arrested in May 2002 for allegedly plotting to detonate a socalled “dirty bomb” somewhere in the US and who since his arrest has been rotting away in prison, without a charge? Well, he finally has been charged, but not with plotting to explode a dirty bomb. The charge instead reads that he conspired to “murder, kidnap and maim” people overseas. TalkLeft discusses this change of heart:
How does Attorney General Gonzalez explain the administration?s change of heart? He claims the administration?s decision to hold Padilla for more than three years, first as a material witness and then as an uncharged ?enemy combatant,? as well as the administration?s previous accusations of wrongdoing, are ?legally irrelevant to the charges we?re bringing today.?
[…]
Perhaps Gonzalez intended the modifier ?legally? to distinguish between facts that are relevant to the administration?s outrageous handling of Padilla?s case and facts that are relevant to the legal merit of the charges the Justice Department finally decided to bring. But keeping Padilla from having meaningful representation during the three-and-a-half years it took the government to build its case — effectively preventing Padilla from preparing a defense — seems highly relevant to whether Padilla can now have a fair trial. Courts rarely give defendants relief when the government delays in bringing an indictment, but defendants are rarely detained for years, with no meaningful access to counsel or the courts, while the government decides whether to indict. The government?s prior conduct may be highly relevant to this prosecution, as much as Gonzalez would like to pretend otherwise.