L&O: Closing arguments against the writer of the torture memos

[NuclearDem]

Old-ish, but relevant. I can't wait until this scenario becomes reality...

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This is no simple legal opinion, ladies and gentlemen, this is an instruction of how to commit a crime and avoid prosecution. Surgical crossing of words to draw hair splitting The creation of a special class of prisoners of a fair game for any sufferings we might subject them to.

This is the legal grease that label the conspirators to commit acts that are immoral and illegal. Hanging prisoners by their wrists until their lungs collapse against their ribs. Water boarding one detainee over 180 times. Mr. Franklin’s defense was that he is just following orders as a mere lawyer in the Department of Justice.

Well like all lawyers he was employed as the last and best defense against justice. To use the law as a shield; to protect people. But instead he used it as a sword to injure people. Where he was sworn to uphold the constitution he used his legal education to subvert it, so shame it, to betray its promise to the world.

Five days after 9/11 vice president Cheney told us we would have to work the dark side to fight terrorists. Well we never imagined that to mean that we would cease control to our own dark sides. The tactics justify from Mr. Franklin’s memo draw from the worst of our nature. Even in the midst of the revolutionary war, in the midsts of the Civil war, presidents Washington and Lincoln admonished their troops not to injure their prisoners.

Now, some of you may feel that it is not the place for the jury or even the people to question the actions of our government officials int he time of war. That the premise of the trial itself is treasonous. I will insure you, ladies and gentlemen, that it is not disloyal to hold our officials to the highest standards of conduct, and it is not disloyal to allow you the people decide what you want done in your name.