Sunday, April 21, 2013

"Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake."

As anyone could have easily expected, the Three Amigos of the Senate---McCain, Graham, and Ayotte, who so graciously replaced retired Amigo Joe Lieberman--want to try the Boston suspect as an enemy combatant.  Never mind that the kid was a citizen.  "Off with his head!," you can hear the Three-Headed Queen of Hearts cry. Enemy combatant status would be a one-way ticket to the only Cuban resort to which you can travel from the US: Guantanamo Bay.

The Three Amigos are, of course, joined by IRA-fundraiser Rep. Peter King, whose solution to almost every problem is increasingly the surveillance state.  (I'm honestly shocked he hasn't offered it as a jobs program.)

The "Top Conservatives on Twitter," the right-wing blogosphere, and the trolls who come out of their underground lairs just to spew racist remarks will likely be echoing such sentiments.

Although the administration, thankfully, not planning to designate Dzhokhar  as such, we do know that he has not been read his Miranda rights.  The length of this pre-Miranda interrogation remains in the air, as is the question of how long it will be until Dzhokhar is brought before a judge.

I wanted to use this as an opportunity to bring up one of my favorite movie quotes, which hails from the 1966 film about Sir Thomas More A Man for All Seasons.
Roper: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!

More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast– man's laws, not God's– and if you cut them down—and you're just the man to do it—do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.
Wise words to keep in mind during the continuing media coverage and political blather as well as the future trial itself.

No comments:

Post a Comment