EntropySux
Chrono Cadet
Re: PAI->Amendments Referred To As PAII->NewPAII Draft
In addition to the suspension of the right of habeous corpus, the violation of the 8th ammendment when it comes to bail, and the ability to send US citizens overseas to face trial the following bothers me most - because the death penalty cannot be reversed once performed:
The draft bill dramatically expands the death penalty, creating fifteen separate new death penalty crimes by defining a new death sentence that sweeps in the remaining crimes listed as federal crimes of terrorism in 18 U.S.C. § 2332b(g)(5)(B) that do not provide for the death penalty. Among others, these include the provision of material support for the lawful activities of an organization labeled a terrorist organization by the government, 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. While the DOJ labels this provision as providing for the death penalty for terrorist “murders,†there is no language in the text that requires any showing by the government of an intent by the defendant to kill; it is sufficient that death results from the defendant’s actions.
Even more troubling, the draft bill is not content to create fifteen new death penalties, but also contains language that sweeps in any violation of state or federal law that is committed under the definition of domestic or international terrorism contained in 18 U.S.C. § 2331. As a result, activities that (1) involve “acts dangerous to human life,†(2) are a violation of any state or federal law, and (3) are committed in order to influence government or the population by intimidation or coercion become death-penalty eligible if death results. Arguably, this definition could fit some protest activities, such as those used by Operation Rescue, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or Greenpeace. For example:
If protesters at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, a military bombing range unpopular with local residents, cut a fence to trespass on the military’s bombing range, and a bomb killed one of the demonstrators, a prosecutor could charge the survivors with a eligible crime for which the sentence could be death.
If Greenpeace activists attempted to block an oil tanker entering a port to protest the company’s safety record, and a member of the tanker’s crew drowned attempting to ward off the activists’ boat, the protesters could be charged with a crime for which the sentence could be death.
If an Operation Rescue anti-abortion demonstration succeeded in blocking a woman seeking follow-up treatment for complications following her abortion, and the woman died, the protestors could be charged with a crime the sentence for which could be death.
Under this provision, protesters could be charged with the death penalty as the result of a tragedy. While dangerous protest tactics can be punished under the law, they are not terrorism and should not be treated as if they were.
I cherish my right to dissent and free speech. We have seen how the current Attorney General has misused the current Patriot Act and with these additional powers we are one step closer to a police state. There is already a clamping down of and homogenization of the media (radio and tv).
These powers, along with declaring a state of emergency will give the executive branch complete and absolute power over all of us.
You know, as much as I dislike him, I don't blame Bush for this. I think, honestly he is against most of these provisions. But I also don't think he holds the real reigns of power here. The group that has been pushing for laws like this have been do it a lot further back than 9-11. Remember the 1st Patriot Act was drafted so fast it was obvious that there was already a copy around far earlier.
And an earlier poster was right, in the aftermath of 9-11, the bill was shoved down congress's throat faster than they ever had an opportunity to digest (read) it. If you Senator or Representative is rubber stamping this stuff, then what makes us any different than the Soviet Union (or current Russia which is heading towards another dictatorship as we speak.
America's light is flickering.
"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
In addition to the suspension of the right of habeous corpus, the violation of the 8th ammendment when it comes to bail, and the ability to send US citizens overseas to face trial the following bothers me most - because the death penalty cannot be reversed once performed:
The draft bill dramatically expands the death penalty, creating fifteen separate new death penalty crimes by defining a new death sentence that sweeps in the remaining crimes listed as federal crimes of terrorism in 18 U.S.C. § 2332b(g)(5)(B) that do not provide for the death penalty. Among others, these include the provision of material support for the lawful activities of an organization labeled a terrorist organization by the government, 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. While the DOJ labels this provision as providing for the death penalty for terrorist “murders,†there is no language in the text that requires any showing by the government of an intent by the defendant to kill; it is sufficient that death results from the defendant’s actions.
Even more troubling, the draft bill is not content to create fifteen new death penalties, but also contains language that sweeps in any violation of state or federal law that is committed under the definition of domestic or international terrorism contained in 18 U.S.C. § 2331. As a result, activities that (1) involve “acts dangerous to human life,†(2) are a violation of any state or federal law, and (3) are committed in order to influence government or the population by intimidation or coercion become death-penalty eligible if death results. Arguably, this definition could fit some protest activities, such as those used by Operation Rescue, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or Greenpeace. For example:
If protesters at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, a military bombing range unpopular with local residents, cut a fence to trespass on the military’s bombing range, and a bomb killed one of the demonstrators, a prosecutor could charge the survivors with a eligible crime for which the sentence could be death.
If Greenpeace activists attempted to block an oil tanker entering a port to protest the company’s safety record, and a member of the tanker’s crew drowned attempting to ward off the activists’ boat, the protesters could be charged with a crime for which the sentence could be death.
If an Operation Rescue anti-abortion demonstration succeeded in blocking a woman seeking follow-up treatment for complications following her abortion, and the woman died, the protestors could be charged with a crime the sentence for which could be death.
Under this provision, protesters could be charged with the death penalty as the result of a tragedy. While dangerous protest tactics can be punished under the law, they are not terrorism and should not be treated as if they were.
I cherish my right to dissent and free speech. We have seen how the current Attorney General has misused the current Patriot Act and with these additional powers we are one step closer to a police state. There is already a clamping down of and homogenization of the media (radio and tv).
These powers, along with declaring a state of emergency will give the executive branch complete and absolute power over all of us.
You know, as much as I dislike him, I don't blame Bush for this. I think, honestly he is against most of these provisions. But I also don't think he holds the real reigns of power here. The group that has been pushing for laws like this have been do it a lot further back than 9-11. Remember the 1st Patriot Act was drafted so fast it was obvious that there was already a copy around far earlier.
And an earlier poster was right, in the aftermath of 9-11, the bill was shoved down congress's throat faster than they ever had an opportunity to digest (read) it. If you Senator or Representative is rubber stamping this stuff, then what makes us any different than the Soviet Union (or current Russia which is heading towards another dictatorship as we speak.
America's light is flickering.
"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin