December 30, 2004
Thursday

Mr. Neckameyer seems to be missing an important point here. Clark's serving on the defense team for Sadam Hussein is not so much about Hussein's guilt or innocence as it is about JUSTICE. If we want to introduce our version of democracy to this part of the world it is imperative that we demonstrate that even an individual such as Hussein is entitled to a fair trial and the best legal counsel available.

This is not a new or unique situation. When the Patriots of what would become the US wanted to demonstrate the "righteousness" of their interpretation of government versus what they perceived as British tyranny, they used the defense of "British criminals" as a means. In particular, I'm referring to the defense of the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre in 1770. Two of the leading Patriot pamphleteers and also two of Boston's leading attorneys, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., defended the soldiers out of their belief that anyone accused of crime was entitled to legal counsel. This right to counsel was later incorporated into our Constitution as the Sixth Amendment.

Mike Dunning
Ketchikan, AK - USA

Related Viewpoint:

Al Jazeera and Ramsey Clark by Mark Neckameyer - Irvine, CA - USA

 

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