Christmas Day Mistake: An opinion piece posted on the Wall Street Journal states that the federal government made a mistake by handing over Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (Christmas day bomber) to civilian authorities because failed to use a unit called the High-Value Interrogation Group (HIG). This Unit decides whether a person should go through the federal justice system or some other route. Currently, the government's only hope to extract information is through a plea deal. Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate that "[f]rankly, we were thinking more of overseas people and, duh, you know, we didn't put it [in action] here." Blair's statements were immediately disputed by an anonymous Administration official, but the Wall Street Journal thinks Blair's statements reveal "the dangerous folly of the Administration's policy of treating terrorists like common criminals."
The Cost of a Terror Trial: In another Wall Street Journal opinion piece, James Q. Wilson asks, why is New York City forced to bear the burden of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial? The trial will take place in lower Manhattan. There will be intense and costly security spanning several city blocks around a federal court house, the city's police headquarters, a New York Supreme Court building, a church, and other government buildings. The high price tag of KSM's trial is an estimated $216 million per year. This is more than New York can afford and the City has asked the federal government to pay for the expenses. It has not received a reply. Wilson has an alternative that he believes will solve all the problems - try the five terror suspect before a military commission located on a secure army base. This won't happen for KSM's trial, so Wilson advises that once the trial starts "don't plan on visiting lower Manhattan."
Decision not to try Detainees: New York Times writer Charles Savage reports that the Obama Administration has decided continue to imprison 50 detainees without trial because a high-level task force has found that their cases are too difficult to prosecute, and concluded the detainees are too dangerous to be released. For the past year, a task force has been sorting through files for each detainee to evaluate the evidence against each man, their potential threat if released, and the possibility of a successful prosecution. There are just under 200 detainees left at Guantanamo. Out of the remaining detainees, 40 will be prosecuted and about 110 will be repatriated of transferred to other countries for possible release.
California State Law To Reduce Prison Population: Associated Press writer Don Thompson reports on a California state law that will reduce its prison population by about 6,500 over the next year. The law is part a last year's budget package. The law will expand early release credits for those who complete educational and vocational programs. Also, low-level offenders will not be monitored after their release, although they can be searched without a warrant. Los Angeles Police Protective League President Paul M. Weber stated, "California has decided to begin jeopardizing public safety with no perceivable financial benefit." The law takes effect on Monday.
The Cost of a Terror Trial: In another Wall Street Journal opinion piece, James Q. Wilson asks, why is New York City forced to bear the burden of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial? The trial will take place in lower Manhattan. There will be intense and costly security spanning several city blocks around a federal court house, the city's police headquarters, a New York Supreme Court building, a church, and other government buildings. The high price tag of KSM's trial is an estimated $216 million per year. This is more than New York can afford and the City has asked the federal government to pay for the expenses. It has not received a reply. Wilson has an alternative that he believes will solve all the problems - try the five terror suspect before a military commission located on a secure army base. This won't happen for KSM's trial, so Wilson advises that once the trial starts "don't plan on visiting lower Manhattan."
Decision not to try Detainees: New York Times writer Charles Savage reports that the Obama Administration has decided continue to imprison 50 detainees without trial because a high-level task force has found that their cases are too difficult to prosecute, and concluded the detainees are too dangerous to be released. For the past year, a task force has been sorting through files for each detainee to evaluate the evidence against each man, their potential threat if released, and the possibility of a successful prosecution. There are just under 200 detainees left at Guantanamo. Out of the remaining detainees, 40 will be prosecuted and about 110 will be repatriated of transferred to other countries for possible release.
California State Law To Reduce Prison Population: Associated Press writer Don Thompson reports on a California state law that will reduce its prison population by about 6,500 over the next year. The law is part a last year's budget package. The law will expand early release credits for those who complete educational and vocational programs. Also, low-level offenders will not be monitored after their release, although they can be searched without a warrant. Los Angeles Police Protective League President Paul M. Weber stated, "California has decided to begin jeopardizing public safety with no perceivable financial benefit." The law takes effect on Monday.
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