Terror Trials In New York City
Eight years later and we are finally going to have a trial to put away the fiends that perpetrated the worst attack on American soil in our history. While I can't wait to read the newspapers the day Khalid Shaik Mohammed is either sentenced to death or put in solitary confinement for perpetuity, I don't agree that the trial should be held in New York.
We all want to give this loser his martyrdom (although something tells me something else lies in his wait), I believe any trial should be one of state, and should he should be tried in a martial court. Mohammed and his cohorts are enemy combatants, enemies of the state. He and Al-Qaeda declared war on the United States in 1998 with Osama bin Laden's fatwa, and any attack thereafter can be defined as an act of war against the US. As such, this is a state and military matter, and should therefore be tried in the proper venue. Furthermore, a civilian court trial for a foreign enemy combatant? Come on. Civilian cases disallow certain classified evidence that could be needed for conviction.
Additionally, although Americans like myself want to see this guy dead (or imprisoned, whichever you prefer), the faster and with the least publicity we get this thing done, the better. As others have mentioned, we don't need this guy using his time on the stand as his bully pulpit to any potential extremists. Don't give him any kind of platform for his diabolical rants. He has admitted to the crimes, and needs to be dealt with quickly.
Finally, I live in the financial district here in New York, and the attention and security detail are gonna make my life a living hell. Just figured I'd throw that in there!
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