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Padilla Found Guilty
Well, it may have taken over half a decade, but Jose Padilla's long, strange, Kafka-esque journey through the legal system has finally come to some resolution, with today's jury verdict finding Padilla guilty of supporting Islamic terrorism overseas.
Though the verdict is only a couple of hours old at this posting, preliminary thoughts on its meaning are already circulating in the press. In this CNN story, Kendall Coffey, a former US Attorney viewed the verdict as a "critical vindication" for DOJ and at the same time, raises questions about whether military tribunals are necessary.
The New York Times also characterized the Padilla verdict as a "major victory" for the Bush administration in this report,
Jose Padilla Convicted on All Counts in Terror Trial. But the <i>Times</i> also quoted Anthony Natale, Padilla's lawyer as stating that:
“In this case, you will see how in the absence of hard evidence, a suspicion can be fueled by fear, nourished by prejudice and directed by politics into a criminal prosecution.”
Not much commentary from the blogosphere, yet...but we expect that by tomorrow, the blogs will be popping with thoughts on the meaning of the verdict and predictions about what comes next.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 16, 2007 at 07:15 PM | Permalink
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