Jose Padilla Gave His Freedom and Sanity that Cheney-Bush Might Rule Unchallenged

[BurtWorm]

What a great American!

:patriot:


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6682846

...


Allegations of 'Outrageous' Treatment

The prosecution faces major problems in the trial. The defense has asked the judge to throw the entire case out, asserting that the government's treatment of Padilla has been "so outrageous as to shock the conscience."

According to court papers filed by Padilla's lawyers, for the first two years of his confinement, Padilla was held in total isolation. He heard no voice except his interrogator's. His 9-by-7 foot cell had nothing in it: no window even to the corridor, no clock or watch to orient him in time.

Padilla's meals were delivered through a slot in the door. He was either in bright light for days on end or in total darkness. He had no mattress or pillow on his steel pallet; loud noises interrupted his attempts to sleep.

...

During length interrogations, his lawyers allege, Padilla was forced to sit or stand for long periods in stress positions. They say he was hooded and threatened with death. The isolation was so extreme that, according to court papers, even military personnel at the prison expressed great concern about Padilla's mental status.

The government maintains that whatever happened to Padilla during his detention is irrelevant, since no information obtained during that time is being used in the criminal case against him.

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[Kagemusha]

1. Hmm... maybe the executive shouldn't have unlimited power over people?

Maybe it leads to large groups making decisions about single individuals without the checks and balances of due process, public evidence and the services of a judge?

Just maybe...

[NNN0LHI]

2. Bush can do this to any of us knowing he is above the law just like Nixon was

Thanks Gerald for setting that precedent.

Don

[BurtWorm]

3. "Padilla was a bit player..."

Even former Justice Department spokesman Corallo concedes that in hindsight, Padilla was a bit player. Corallo says the government faces a problem over its ever-changing claims about what Padilla did and whether he could be prosecuted in a civilian court.

[BurtWorm]

4. "the objective of the government always has been to incapacitate this person."

The government adamantly denies mistreating Padilla, though it does not dispute the particulars cited in Padilla's legal papers. Rather, the government says its treatment of Padilla was humane and notes that it provided medical treatment when necessary. The government agreed to the additional psychiatric evaluation that has now been ordered by the judge.

Indeed, there are even some within the government who think it might be best if Padilla were declared incompetent and sent to a psychiatric prison facility. As one high-ranking official put it, "the objective of the government always has been to incapacitate this person."

[jaksavage]

5. Hanging my head

I am not feeling very proud to be c citizen of the United States of America.

[ThomCat]

6. The treatment of this man, no matter what he was planning to do,

should be grounds for the impeachment and imprisonment of everyone in the chain of command responsible. They destroyed this person's mind, by torturing him both physically (stress positions, prolonged light and darkness, heat and cold) and psychologically (interupted sleep, isolation).