November 11, 2021
What Is an America that Holds Prisoners Indefinitely without Charging Them?
By E. Jeffrey Ludwig
The U.S. is facing a serious constitutional crisis over the handling of the cases of defendants in the Jan. 6 so-called "insurrection" in Washington, D.C. to protest the presidential election modus operandi and the results. Those being held for many months without a trial are being denied their habeas corpus rights under the U.S. Constitution and even dating back to English law hundreds of years before our Constitution was implemented. Not only are they being incarcerated without having had a trial, but there is some evidence that they are being mistreated or are being held 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, which is a punishment accorded only the most dangerous criminals, such as serial killers and terrorists.
What are habeas corpus rights? According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "[h]abeas corpus is a fundamental right in the Constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. Translated from Latin it means 'show me the body.' Habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument to safeguard individual freedom against arbitrary executive power." A citizen must be charged and cannot be held indefinitely. A charge requires a trial, and, if found guilty in a trial, there is a sentence for a specific amount of time.
Even PolitiFact — hardly an unbiased fact checker — relates, "The vast majority of defendants have been released from custody while awaiting trial, but some [my italics] held in jail have been kept in solitary confinement." The fact that exact numbers for how many are held in solitary confinement or for how long suggests to this writer evasion by the Washington, D.C. jail authorities.
more
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/11/what_is_an_america_that_holds_prisoners_indefinitely_without_charging_them.html
