November 17, 2010, Imagine that!
A former Guantanamo detainee was... wait for it... tried in a civilian court in New York City and... wait for it... he was acquitted of all but one count; he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to destroy government property.
Ahmed Ghailani had actually been indicted by a New York federal grand jury before 9-11, for his role in the 1998 bombings of United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in which hundreds were killed, including a dozen American nationals. Key rulings by federal U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan included the blocking of a key witness because the Government only learned about the witness by torturing Ghailani (and implicitly, because that witness was probably tortured as well). Kaplan declined to dismiss the case against Ghailani on speedy trial grounds, even though Ghailani was held for years in CIA or military custody before being brought to trial.
On the one count of conspiracy, the charge carries a possible sentence of 20 years to life; given that the jury specifically asked for a read-back of the law of conspiracy, let's just say this will be a very interesting appeal.
For those feckless politicians who continue to insist that the alleged 9-11 conspirators can't be tried in New York... well, an alleged terrorist was tried, and convicted, in what by all accounts was a fair proceeding... and the world didn't come to an end. Not that reality means much to politicians looking to score points-- and Democrats (Chuck Schumer) tend to be far worse about this than Republicans, who at least have the virtue of sincerity in their hardass macho bullshit. And so... yes, I am going to guess that the Obama Administration is going to do... (Brother Andy explains it all for you.)
I for one welcome our new ant overlords am proud of my fellow New Yorkers who served on the jury, for doing the highest service our justice system can do: be fair to the most hated man around, in this case, an accused mass murderer, by carefully assessing the case before them, rather than, as virtually all our politicians seem to do, relying on prejudices or propaganda or expedience. Obviously, this is what our politicians are most afraid of, and why the Ghailani trial will probably be the last of its kind. Which is a disservice to us all, but most of all to the victims of September 11th and their families, who may be satisfied with politically expedient vengeance, but justice, it seems, is more than our government is willing to provide.