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Home Front: WoT
Somali pirate lawyers want convictions tossed
2011-01-01
RICHMOND, Va. -- Attorneys for five Somali men convicted of attacking a U.S. Navy ship off Africa are asking a judge to reconsider the piracy conviction.

The attorneys in December asked a federal judge to look at defense claims that the men who attacked the USS Nicholas on April 1 did not commit piracy because they did not board or rob the frigate.
April Fools joke, your honor. That's all it was...
So their defense is that they were inept pirates. Shrewd, counselor, very shrewd...
An attorney cited a report by the Congressional Research Service suggesting the 1819 definition of piracy may limit the ability of the government to charge individuals as pirates as merchant vessels come under increasing attack globally.
Posted by:tu3031

#7  I say, acquit them, take them back to where they were captured, and drop them off.

Oh - you say they were 300 miles out to sea? Well, getting home is still their problem.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2011-01-01 18:54  

#6  Just find some country willing to deal with pirates the old fashioned way, then everybody agree to "rotating jurisdiction" over captured pirates, under a confusing scheme by which no matter when pirates are captured, they just happen to be under the jurisdiction of that particular country.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2011-01-01 17:55  

#5  "next time: Plank. Walk. Swim Drown. Some assembly required."

FTFY.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2011-01-01 15:11  

#4  Building on statements made earlier concerning the applicablity of certain , shall we say, 'documents,' citing the definition of piracy from an 1820 Supreme Court decision is worthless, because 'it is over a 100 years old.'

next time: Plank. Walk. Swim. Some assembly required.
Posted by: USN,Ret   2011-01-01 15:02  

#3  "pirate lawyers" - isn't that redundant?
Posted by: CincinnatusChili   2011-01-01 15:01  

#2  Edited out of the final AP copy:

"A faint mechanical whirring sound was heard in the courtroom, later discovered to be the result of the body of Stephen Decatur hitting 20,000 revolutions per minute."
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)   2011-01-01 14:15  

#1  Good background. Next time, let the real sharks have them. Makes things a lot less complicated...
Posted by: tu3031   2011-01-01 13:40  

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