"I don't want to know his name. I don't want to see his face. I don't want to know his life's history, his back-story, who his family is, where he went to school, or what he liked to do in his spare time. I don't want to know what "cause", if any, he was fighting for. I don't want to know why he did it, or may have done it, or what possessed him to carry out his actions. I don't want to know. Because that's what he really wants. I'll be damned if I'm going to give him what he wants.
Put him on trial, but don't cover it. Tell me when you decide to jail him for three lifetimes - because that number matters. That's the number of lives he has to now pay for. That's all I want to know about him. Nothing else.
Instead, tell me about the first responders who ran towards the fray, within seconds, fearless. Tell me about the ones wearing the yellow volunteer jacket, or the neon police vest, or even the ones in the regular everyday t-shirt who became a helper. Tell me the story about the first responder who held gauze over a wound until they made it to the hospital. Tell me the story about the volunteer who held the hand of the injured spectator until they got into the ambulance. In six months, tell me the story of those who lost a limb, who beat the odds, pulled through countless surgeries, and are learning to walk again. Tell me the story about the love, the compassion, and the never-ending support of thousands, millions, of people who support the victims here. Tell me their stories. Tell me everything you can, because they are the ones that matter. Tell me of the good that they have done, are doing, and will continue to do, regardless of... No, not regardless of, in spite of. In spite of that someone who would do them harm. Because that's what freedom in this country means. It means coming together in the hardest of times, even in the face of unfathomable adversity, to make life better for all those around us.
Tell me the good stories. That's all I want to hear."
Preach it, brother.
Oh, and while I'm at it, screw the ACLU.
Right about the time Dzhokhar Tsarnaev violently demonstrated his utter disdain for the rights of every single person at the finish line of the Boston marathon, I stopped giving one single solitary shit about his.
Preach it, brother.
Oh, and while I'm at it, screw the ACLU.
Right about the time Dzhokhar Tsarnaev violently demonstrated his utter disdain for the rights of every single person at the finish line of the Boston marathon, I stopped giving one single solitary shit about his.
Ack. Totally disagree with you about disregard for rule of law. We should not allow our government to disregard rights just because individuals have in their committing of atrocities. I am not saying give him a free pass; I am saying that rule of law is critically important to civilization, and if we fall into vigilantism things will get so, so, so much worse.
ReplyDeleteFigured you would. I'm sure my husband the lawyer would too. As I understood the commentary, it sounded like the police were permitted to not immediately Mirandize him under the circumstances and did not act inappropriately. Believe me, I am not advocating vigilantism and am a big fan of the justice system. But this smacked a bit too much of victimizing Tsarnaev for me.
DeleteIt was days after the bombing, no imminent danger. They were pushing it too far unnecessarily, and that would be a huge issue on appeal as a result. I didn't read their statement as victimizing him - just a reality check to follow the rules to avoid problems later. I know people love to hate the ACLU, but I think they're critically important.
DeleteThis says it pretty well: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/04/dzhokhar_tsarnaev_and_miranda_rights_the_public_safety_exception_and_terrorism.html?wpisrc=most_viral.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong: they didn't question him at all, right? With or without Mirandizing? I thought I read that he was too badly injured for that (and incapable of speech) and was taken directly for medical care. Perhaps they thought there were further bombs/devices/booby traps/cell members still to be found and therefore posing a public safety risk?
ReplyDeleteI don't know - I haven't followed it - just know what you did about their plan to.
DeleteThe public safety exception is really for like "you have kidnapped a man and put him in a bunker with limited oxygen and we need to know where he is or he will be dead in 7 minutes." That kind of thing. Imminent and very serious harm. They say it's because there could still be bombs three days later, but that's too far of a stretch.
Thought of you when I saw this today:
Delete"The surviving suspect in last week's Boston Marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, "will not be treated as an enemy combatant" but rather will be prosecuted "through our civilian system of justice," White House spokesman Jay Carney said today. "Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions," he said.
I have to admit that it made me feel better too. Aboveboard beats concealed.