Here's more to add to the already full work of Albany Attorney Stephen Downs. After I went to a conference on these issues - incl. Mr. Downs (half the 85 or so folk were family members of victims and their advocates) -- I was stunned how little most of us Rights folk know about these dynamics.
See similar work - some of which has predated and reinforces this Cage Prisoners' release. Here's the main website for Mr. Downs' work:
http://projectsalam.org/ or go here
Connie L. Nash
SEE: www.cageprisoners.com or CLICK here
PRESS RELEASE: Cageprisoners releases report on severely
disproportionate sentencing in the US
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Cageprisoners
2 June 2011
PRESS RELEASE: Cageprisoners releases report on severely
disproportionate sentencing -
Too Blunt for Just Outcomes, today in order to highlight the disproportionate way in
which the US judiciary is carrying out sentencing in federal cases.
Although there are real areas of concern in relation to due process
and procedural impropriety, the focus of this report is on the
sentencing guidelines that are used in cases involving Muslims. Even
where the convictions against a Muslim suspect bear only a very
peripheral relation to terrorism, a terrorism enhancement is being
applied which dramatically increases the number of years to be served
by the defendant.
The report shows a number of examples of the widespread way in which
the sentencing guidelines are being used in order to criminalise
Muslims and indeed increase the fear and stigma surrounding terrorism
within the Muslim community. Guantanamo may well be the symbol of
arbitrary detention and removal of due process, however, the US
mainland requires much work before it can lay claim to a fair, open
and justice system for all.
Cageprisoners Executive Director, Asim Qureshi, said of these releases,
“With so much attention on the abuses of detainees in Guantanamo Bay,
it is sometimes easy to be sidetracked from the serious violations of
human rights taking place on the US mainland. This report provides a
glimpse into the way in which the US government has sought to
manipulate its own legal system, in order to detain Muslims as
suspected terrorists.”
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Cageprisoners is a human rights NGO that exists to raise awareness of
the plight of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other detainees held
as part of the War on Terror. We aim to give a voice to the voiceless.
Give a voice to the voiceless.
Cageprisoners Ltd.
27 Old Gloucester Street
London
WC1N 3XX
Telephone: (44) 203 167 4416
Obama Objects to Homeland Security Funding Bill's Detainee Restrictions
ReplyDeleteBy Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Wed Jun 01, 2011 at 10:40:08 AM EST
The White House released this statement yesterday about its position on the House bill for Homeland Security funding. (H.R. 2017.)It strongly objects to the provision limiting funds for the transfer of detainees, calling the restrictions "a dangerous and extraordinary challenge to critical Executive branch authority."
The Administration also has a number of serious constitutional concerns. The Administration strongly objects to the provisions of section 537 that limit the use of funds to transfer detainees and otherwise restrict detainee transfers.
Part 11 (to previous comment)
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Administration opposes the release of detainees within the United States, section 537 is a dangerous and extraordinary challenge to critical Executive branch authority to determine when and where to prosecute detainees, based on the facts and the circumstances of each case and our national security interests. It unnecessarily constrains the Nation's counterterrorism efforts and would undermine national security, particularly where Federal courts are the best – or even the only – option for incapacitating dangerous terrorists. For decades, presidents of both political parties have leveraged the flexibility and strength of this country’s Federal courts to incapacitate dangerous terrorists and gather critical intelligence. The prosecution of terrorists in Federal court is an essential element of counterterrorism efforts – a powerful tool that must remain an available option.
The Administration strongly opposes any inclusion of ideological and political provisions that are beyond the scope of funding legislation. Should the Congress continue to include language that is not relevant to a funding debate, the Administration will oppose the bill.
Obama stops short of promising an express veto, but is he making a veiled veto threat? Hard to tell.
The above TWO COMMENTS and comments on the original piece by Jeralyn can be found here: http://www.talkleft.com/story/2011/6/1/11408/53470
ReplyDeleteYou may want to also see Bishop Desmond Tutu's talk which is in his coming new book:
ReplyDeleteGod is Not a Christian just posted on:
http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com