PatsSB42

Obama: Alleged 9/11 leader will be executed
In NBC interview, he then backs off by saying he doesn't mean to prejudge

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Wednesday predicted that professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be convicted and executed, as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified in the Senate to defend the strategy of civilian trials for the alleged Sept. 11 plotters.

In an interview with NBC News, Obama said those offended by the legal privileges given to Mohammed by virtue of getting a civilian trial rather than a military tribunal won't find it "offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him."

Obama quickly added that he did not mean to suggest he was prejudging the outcome of Mohammed's trial. "I'm not going to be in that courtroom," he said. "That's the job of the prosecutors, the judge and the jury."

I aw the interview and Obama didn't back off until Todd challanged his death penalty statement. I've also asked what the potential impact of the execution(s)will be world wide as well as the seemingly sudden acceptance by liberals normally who oppose a death penalty sentence(as do I) and now use it as a valid reason for why it's ok to try these guys in a civillian court. For some reason no one wants to discuss this


More:

Obama: Alleged 9/11 leader will be executed - Security- msnbc.com

DarrylS

Probably will not see the finality of this in my lifetime, after all the legal jockeying is done.. there are a lot of people awaiting execution...

My preference is Florence, Colorado... an underground controlled prison, devoid of any human contact...

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"Stats are for losers. Final score is for winners." Billl Belichick

efin98

That's pretty much a guarantee since it's where they usually put the guys who need permanent segregation due to their crimes anyway...

He can say hello to fellow convicted conspirators and terrorists Zacarias Moussaoui, Mahmud Abouhalima, José Padilla, Ramzi Yousef, Richard Reid, and Wadih el-Hage among many others on his way in.

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"As long as we have Belichick, I always think that we're going to be just fine."...Tom Brady, in reference to his coach.

In BB we trust...not just a motto, but a belief.

PressCoverage

8 hours later, and not a single "hate everything about Obama" contributer can bring himself to enter the thread and say "well done, Mr. President."

DarrylS

Eric Rudolph, Ted Kascinsky, Terry Nichols and Robert Hanson said hi also...

__________________
"Stats are for losers. Final score is for winners." Billl Belichick

Harry Boy

Can they now drop charges because Stupid Obama has publicly predicted the outcome?

Can the defense now have these men set free because of Stupid Obama's blunder?

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Harry Boy (Genius)

PatsSB42

The next day and you're the only one that has even hinted at their support or non support of the presidents comments.

It does seem he's inviting a "the fix is in" charge by making these comments before anything formal has started.

I'll pose the questions again. what would be the world's reaction to a death sentence from our civil court system and why does it seem to be ok now with everyone that a death sentence is ok in this country? What happened to the usual liberal objecters?

One last question, do you think Obama and Holder are playing politics with a death sentence in order gain acceptence from the right?

Patriot_in_NY

Actually, as a proud "hate everything about Obama" charter member, I feel the exact opposite. Since Obama's own AG made the "ideological" shift that moved these clowns to the civilian justice system, and the protections it affords.......... it's a little premature for the "de facto" head of this legal system to pronounce...... "We're gonna whack this guy" prior to due process playing out.

For a system whose hallmark is one of "due process" and the concepts of "innocent til proven guilty" perhaps he might wait until KSM & co. have been stood trial and been proven guilty, before pronouncing what his sentence will be? Hmmmmm?

Obama is such a f**king tool that he did not even learn from the whole Cambridge Police/Beer Summit fiasco not 3 months ago NOT to circumvent due process and the rule of law before spouting off at the mouth. Not very smart, even more so for a constitutional scholar as the one claims to be.

Don't get me wrong, I'd just as soon waterboard KSM another 100 times for good measure before setting him on fire and making him jump out of a 90 floor window. But I'm not the one that say's that this POS deserves the right to a trail in front of his peers either. Can't have it both ways O.

BelichickFan

He's presumed innocent right now with all the rights that the rest of us get. Unless obama is planning on cheating the system, he's calling for the execution of a presumed innocent person. This isn't a "great example" of our legal system, it's a sham.

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Don't Give Me a Defensive Player Who Can't Tackle . . . What Am I Going to Do With Him ? --- Bill Belichick

Patsfanin Philly

I'm not a hate everything about President Obama but.....
Actually his comments hurt the case and are inappropriate.A defense attorney could claim that the President poisoned the potential jury pool by pre-judging the case and it's impossible for his client to get a fair trial and as such , the charges should be thrown out. It's almost a guarantee that that will be one of the motions. It likely won't succeed but it should never have even happened.
A prosecutor ( I know the Attorney General is the nation's chief law enforcement officer) is supposed to refrain from prejudicial comments. In this case, the President has a responsibility as he would be the one called upon to sign any clemency or stays of execution. As an attorney he knows the responsibilities or prosecutors and attorneys involved. He quickly caught himself as his next line suggested....(I linked the rules of Professional conduct below)
That's why in a press conference, prosecutors usually stick to the facts and don't say "he's guilty as hell, and going to get the death penalty" but rather, " these are the facts and we will pursue the death penalty as a punishment in this case"

Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 3.8--Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor

Prosecutor shall NOT
… (f) Except for statements which are necessary to inform the public of the nature and extent of the prosecutor’s action and which serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose, make extrajudicial comments which serve to heighten condemnation of the accused; or….


It would have more appropriate for the President to say,
" we believe the case against these defendants to be a strong one, supported by evidence that will be admissible and that justice will be served. The prosecutors will be pursuing the death penalty as a punishment."