Friday, June 20, 2008

Habeous Corpus

The writ of habeous corpus is one of the oldest rights in western civilization, dating back to medeval England. Roughly, it means that the government must show to a judge why someone is being held in jail. If the government cannot show a reasonable amount of evidence, then the person is freed.

The Supreme Court in a split decision (5-4) ruled that the prisioners at Guantanamo are entitled to habeous corpus hearings.

Most of these inmates have been jailed for years without any trial; it's high time that the government prove its case or to release the individuals.

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