Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminal Law - Essay Example This paper will present issues related to which crimes terrorists can be charged with, how defendants who commit crimes in other countries can be charged in the United States, and how we can prevent terrorism both inside and outside the United States. The agencies of the federal government define terrorism in several different ways. This lack of consistency may raise difficult legal questions when the government starts investigating and processing terrorist suspects under different legal procedures than it applies to other The Justice Department’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) defines domestic terrorism as involving matters where individuals or groups seek to further political goals wholly or in part through activities that involve force or the threat of force. The EOUSA defines international terrorism as a federal offense relating to international terrorism impacting United States interests.... Criminal trials have many procedural hurdles that guarantee a trial of many months. Appeals and petitions for habeas corpus can take years, and should the death sentence be given, the ACLU has shown how to delay execution for ten years or more through appeals and petitions. An open trial of that length, covered by the media, would be an ideal stage for an Osama bin Laden to spread his propaganda to all the Muslims in the world. Many Islamic governments would likely find that aroused mobs make it impossible to continue cooperating with the U.S. In open trials, our government would have to reveal much of our intelligence information, and the means by which it was gathered. In the trial of the bombers of our embassies in Africa, the prosecution had to reveal that American intelligence intercepted bin Laden's satellite phone calls. As soon as that testimony was published, Osama stopped using the satellite system and went silent. Disclosures in open court would inform not only Middle Eastern terrorists, but all the intelligence services of the world of out methods and sources. Trials before an international tribunal would have all of these defects and more. Picking the members of the court would be a diplomatic nightmare. It would be politically impossible to keep judges from Islamic countries off the court. In the past, international courts have often shown a pronounced anti-American bias. Our prosecutor would be helpless to avoid a propaganda circus and the disclosure of our intelligence capabilities and methods. In the end, convictions would be highly uncertain, but, if obtained, impassioned dissents and the martyrdom of the terrorists would be certain. We should be wary of international tribunals in