Boston bomber caught but the Bill of Rights is now in danger.

• BecomeMeguca wrote on 2013-04-21 02:03
  "http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/reawakening-liberty/2013/apr/20/bill-rights-was-written-dzhokar-tsarnaev/"
  
  

  
  
  TAMPA, April 20, 2013 – 19-year-old Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev is in custody. Assuming that Tsarnaev is indeed guilty of these crimes, a very real threat to public safety has been taken off the streets. That’s the good news.
  
  The bad news is that the Tsarnaev brothers have taken the last vestiges of a free society in America down with them.
  
  The Bill of Rights was already on life support before this tragedy. Before the dust settled after 9/11, the 4th Amendment had been nullified by the Patriot Act. The 5th and 6th Amendments were similarly abolished with the Military Commission Act of 2006 and the 2012 NDAA resolution, which contained a clause allowing the president to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil without due process of law.
  
  Americans had already grown accustomed to having their persons and papers searched at the airport without probable cause and without a warrant supported by oath or affirmation. After a brief, politically-motivated backlash against the Bush Administration, Americans similarly resigned themselves to the government tapping their phones, reading their e-mails and generally spying on them wherever they went. Things were already very, very bad.
  
  They just got a lot worse.
  
  Not only did the militarized domestic law enforcement complex put the City of Boston under martial law, but nobody seems to have found it out of the ordinary, much less outrageous. Yes, a few journalists like libertarian Anthony Gregory raised a finger. But, for the most part, nobody seemed to mind that the entire city was under military siege, complete with paramilitary units in full battle gear, battlefield ordinance and tanks. Tanks!
  
  SEE RELATED: Seven unanswered questions about the Boston bombers
  
  How did we get here? 238 years ago to the day, the inhabitants of the very same city started a war and seceded from their union over a mere infantry brigade attempting to disarm them. Now they cheer those who violate their rights much worse than the British ever did.
  
  When Lee Harvey Oswald was similarly suspected of killing a police officer after assassinating the President of the United States, Dallas was not put under martial law. No tanks rolled through the streets. Oswald was armed at the time of his arrest and attempted to shoot the arresting officer, whose thumb stopped the hammer of Oswald’s pistol from discharging the weapon at point blank range.
  
  It is noteworthy that the military siege was called off several hours before Tsarnaev was captured. In the end, he was found and taken into custody by the same methods that any other criminal has been for most of U.S. history.
  
  So, there was no cause and effect relationship between the state show of power and the apprehension of the suspect.
  
  SEE RELATED: Tamerlan Tsarnaev: A Chechen jihadist in Boston?
  
  Now, the DOJ has announced that Tsarnaev will not be read his Miranda rights, citing the “public danger” exception in the 5th Amendment. But the language in the amendment doesn’t remotely apply to this situation, nor is it even related to the protection against being a witness against oneself. It reads,
  
  “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
  
  First of all, Tsarnaev is not in the Army, Navy or militia. Even if he were, the language would only have applied if Tsarnaev had been observed with the bomb in his hands just before committing the crime. The exception gives law enforcement the power to arrest him without first getting a Grand Jury indictment under those circumstances. It doesn’t release the government from the prohibition against compelling Tsarnaev to be a witness against himself after his arrest, which is the basis for Miranda.
  
  If Tsarnaev is guilty, then the public danger was over once he was arrested. The government has no authority to waive any of its obligations for due process. He should be read his rights and allowed to remain silent without molestation. He should have an arraignment where he is given the opportunity to hear the charges against him and enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If he is unable to afford a lawyer, one should be assigned to him at public expense. His guilt should be decided by a jury of his peers, not the government or the media.
  
  The Bill of Rights was written for Dzhokar Tsarnaev. It wasn’t written for those suspected of minor violations.
  
  The Boston Marathon bombing was a particularly heinous crime. No one with a pulse could help but feel deeply for the parents of an eight-year-old boy killed by this senseless act or the others killed or permanently maimed. Most red-blooded men would have liked nothing better than to have been the one who found Dzhokar Tsarnaev, praying he’d resist arrest.
  
  Those are perfectly healthy feelings, but the awful power of the state is not supposed to be set loose based upon feelings. It is supposed to be restrained by reason. God help us if we forget.
  
  
  

  
  
  It is the exceptions to the law, that becomes the law. We are a nation of laws and the Constitution is the basis for our law. If we allow exceptions to the law, then the law ceases to exist and we become subject to whatever law one decides is the law.
• Ashikoki wrote on 2013-04-21 02:06
  I'm definitely not fond of this news at all.
  
  Not in the slightest.
• Osayidan wrote on 2013-04-21 02:36
  It does seem thatwith every incident that occurs a little bit more freedom/rights are traded in for "security".
  Then shit happens again.
  Repeat process.
• BecomeMeguca wrote on 2013-04-21 03:05
  Freedom was born in Boston and will die in Boston as people allow the government to become more and more authoritarian under the name of security.
  
  I'm pretty sure rolling tanks into Boston was NOT NECESSARY/
• Morrigan wrote on 2013-04-21 03:09
  This is why people have been thinking that this is a conspiracy, they're making power grabs with every single "disaster".
• Splatulated wrote on 2013-04-21 06:12
  so when do you say enough is enough and fight the law back and reclaim it for what it should be ?
• Aubog007 wrote on 2013-04-21 06:42
  Oh look, more drama for the media. Ooooooh dear.
  
  It's horrible what people do these days, everything that was done for boston was completely unneeded, yet people let it happen because they were caught in the chase.
• Fabian wrote on 2013-04-21 07:04
  Well, shit...
• Xemnas wrote on 2013-04-21 07:30

  Quote from Splatulated;1072567:

  so when do you say enough is enough and fight the law back and reclaim it for what it should be ?

  
  
  When you need to apply for a permit to leave your house and wait 5 months or be killed on sight.
• Yakumo Yukari wrote on 2013-04-21 12:15
  Maybe it's cuz i'm not 'murican, but I don't understand what the big deal is.
• Drizzit wrote on 2013-04-21 18:08

  Quote from Yakumo Yukari;1072621:

  Maybe it's cuz i'm not 'murican, but I don't understand what the big deal is.

  
  
  Boston was put under Martial Law, with SWAT teams going door to door, invading people's homes, and you don't see a problem? Maybe in you country that's normal, but in ours, it violates several constitutional amendments, and people just sat back and let it happen because they were scared of one 19-year-old kid who was hiding under a boat.
• Claudia wrote on 2013-04-21 18:32
  I just think that we can end this with a simple statement: hindsight is 20/20. It's a lot easier to look back now, almost 48 hours after the manhunt ended, and say things like "oh the cops were violating a billion amendments" or "he's just some scared little kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
  
  I know this is clearly an unpopular opinion, but when it comes to personal rights vs. public safety, I'm all for the latter. I would rather temporarily sacrifice my freedom in exchange for my own safety or the safety of other humans beings that I care about.
  
  And personal bias aside, I think the police, FBI, ATF, and everyone who helped this week was fucking amazing. I know some of you are pretty adamant about your "fuck da polis" train of thought but it's disrespectful to the thousands of officers who risked their lives, just doing their job. It's a pretty thankless job because people who have shitty attitudes about law enforcement. Maybe you've had a bad experience with a cop, but just remember - they were trying their best to do their job.
• Natural Harmonia Gropius wrote on 2013-04-21 19:22

  Quote from Claudia;1072725:

  I just think that we can end this with a simple statement: hindsight is 20/20. It's a lot easier to look back now, almost 48 hours after the manhunt ended, and say things like "oh the cops were violating a billion amendments" or "he's just some scared little kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
  
  I know this is clearly an unpopular opinion, but when it comes to personal rights vs. public safety, I'm all for the latter. I would rather temporarily sacrifice my freedom in exchange for my own safety or the safety of other humans beings that I care about.
  
  And personal bias aside, I think the police, FBI, ATF, and everyone who helped this week was fucking amazing. I know some of you are pretty adamant about your "fuck da polis" train of thought but it's disrespectful to the thousands of officers who risked their lives, just doing their job. It's a pretty thankless job because people who have shitty attitudes about law enforcement. Maybe you've had a bad experience with a cop, but just remember - they were trying their best to do their job.

  
  
  I agree. It was only temporary. They aren't making it a 24/7/365(366 on Leap year) thing. If searching my home means you may be able to put an end to this, by all means go ahead. I have nothing to hide. Who knows, the guy may have crawled into my attic somehow and now I have a dangerous person in my house providing a threat to my life and the life of my family.
  
  Though if you guys really wanted, we could have just said screw it to the whole thing and let them get away and kill more people. That's always a good option I guess, following the logic you guys are using.
• Compass wrote on 2013-04-21 19:32
  I agree with Claudia.
  Are you guys really complaining about the military coming into your house for a few minutes just to search? Everyone knew what the reason was, and everyone can agree that they want nothing to happen like this ever again.
  
  And if something like this did happen again/frequently, you people would suggest better security.
  
  Also Boston wasn't that bad. I still saw people living their life normally while walking around, and even though it was suggested that on Friday people stay inside their houses it wasn't enforced people were still hanging out being happy and what not.
  Can't really speak for Watertown since I don't go there that often even though I live 15-20 minutes away from it.
• Natural Harmonia Gropius wrote on 2013-04-21 19:33

  Quote from Compass;1072740:

  I agree with Claudia.
  Are you guys really complaining about the military coming into your house for a few minutes just to search? Everyone knew what the reason was, and everyone can agree that they want nothing to happen like this ever again.
  
  And if something like this did happen again, you people would suggesting for better security.
  
  Also Boston wasn't that bad. I still saw people living their life normally while walking around, and even though it was suggested that on Friday people stay inside their houses it wasn't enforced people were still hanging out being happy and what not.
  Can't really speak for Watertown since I don't go there that often even though I live 15-20 minutes away from it.

  
  
  Pretty sure if this stuff was happening to them they would be screaming for police/military intervention.