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| Deserter changes his rationale to suit current headlines |
| 2004-05-21 |
| A U.S. soldier charged with deserting his unit in Iraq walked away partly to avoid orders to abuse Iraqi prisoners, his attorneys argued Wednesday. Attorneys for Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, an infantryman with the Florida National Guard, spent the first day of Mejia's court-martial arguing for a military judge to dismiss the desertion charge. Ramsey Clark, one of Mejia's attorneys, said his client was disgusted after his unit was ordered to use sleep-deprivation tactics with blindfolded Iraqi detainees. In at least one instance, Clark said, a pistol was cocked next to detainees' heads. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #5 Doesnât make me like the morally bankrupt criminal defense attorneys any less. Caveat: I am a trial lawyer. I donât do criminal defense work -- but I would hope all criminal defense attorneys handle even the worst clientâs case with a zealous presumption that their client is innocent, and make the government prove itâs case beyond a reasonable doubt. I think in a free society we are entitled to expect vigorous defenses for those charged with crimes, and âit is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.â (Blackstone (1753-1765) in 2 Bl. Com. c. 27, margin page 358, ad finem). We must err on the side of acquittal to maintain a free society. PLEASE DONâT MISTAKE THIS AS ADVOCACY FOR TAKING IT EASY ON CRIMINALS -- I fully believe that once someone is proven to be guilty, despite the initial presumption of innocence, that person should âfryâ as a deterrent example to other would-be criminals. These ideas, I think, as well as the role of lawyers in general (and frivolous lawsuits) was bandied about at some length a few months back (right here at Rantburg, including that famous âkill all the lawyersâ quote of Shakespeare -- here in this thread). Bear in mind that -- even with Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejiaâs wild and crazy defense strategy of trying to jump on the prison abuse media band wagon -- he was found guilty and faces jail and a bad conduct discharge (see this thread). The system worked, and (once again) our nationâs respect for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been vindicated by the rule of law. |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-05-21 4:02:51 PM |
| #4 Tibor: I am aware of that fact. Doesn't make me like the morally bankrupt criminal defense attorneys any less. (The REAL problem is crooked legislators / politicians who create the rotten laws that are ultimately exploited by the lawyers after all. Not that an anti-idiotarian Rantburgian like yourself would ever behave that way... ;>)) |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2004-05-21 11:33:02 AM |
| #3 Chris W -- That is one of the most popular and misunderstood Shakespeare quotes of all time. The character saying it, Dick the Butcher I think, wanted to kill the lawyers because they stood for the rule of law, and he was advocating a peasant revolt. And I'm not just saying this because I'm a lawyer . . . . |
| Posted by: Tibor 2004-05-21 11:09:56 AM |
| #2 Is this the same Ramsey Clark who has coddled and fellated every anti-American dictator in the world for decades now? When is this clown going to die, anyway? |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2004-05-21 11:09:18 AM |
| #1 "The first thing we do, letâs kill all the lawyers.â - William Shakespeare. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2004-05-21 10:26:10 AM |