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To: Pollster1
I get that shooting at a warship is both stupid and criminal but if the definition in the law is wrong then the legislative body has a responsibility to update the law. Letting the courts redefine things “to fit the times” is something that normally conservatives are aghast at.

Of course the whole idea that pirates captured off Somalia shooting at a U.S. warship are given full access to our courts with defense attorneys and appeals is a completely different subject.

4 posted on 01/29/2013 6:43:24 PM PST by Pan_Yan
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To: Pan_Yan
It wasn't all that long ago that firing shots at a U.S. Navy vessel like this was pretty much a death sentence. Nowadays, it gets you detained, transported to the U.S., three meals a day while you live in confinement enjoying a standard of living that 99.99% of your fellow countrymen can only dream of, and a taxpayer-funded attorney to plead your case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The homosexualization of our military was apparently complete long before Barack Obama stepped into the White House.

6 posted on 01/29/2013 6:51:12 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("I am the master of my fate ... I am the captain of my soul.")
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To: Pan_Yan
I get that shooting at a warship is both stupid and criminal but if the definition in the law is wrong then the legislative body has a responsibility to update the law. Letting the courts redefine things “to fit the times” is something that normally conservatives are aghast at.

Actually, I am wrong on this one, and you are right. I checked the legal definitions, and piracy specifically requires robbery at sea. Robbery specifically requires that the criminal take possession of property. By the letter of the law, this was not piracy, so the lawyers have a point. It was just attempted murder (shooting at a person is specifically classified as attempted murder). The problem is that the law gives our warships jurisdiction over piracy on the high seas but not over attempted murder. Legally, we should not spend $40k a year to warehouse these pirates for life, since we have no jurisdiction over attempted murder in international waters. We should release them, preferably the way the Russians do - in a leaky inflatable boat, 600 miles from land, with a day's water for one person and no propulsion.

12 posted on 01/30/2013 2:49:38 AM PST by Pollster1
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To: Pan_Yan
Of course the whole idea that pirates captured off Somalia shooting at a U.S. warship are given full access to our courts with defense attorneys and appeals is a completely different subject.

That is as it should be:

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

16 posted on 01/30/2013 7:12:57 AM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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