03/04/09 - Two advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union debated about the rights of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay last night in the University of Rhode Island Memorial Union.The debate, held in Atrium 1, marked the 50th anniversary of the RI-Affiliate of the association and was the third, and last, debate of its kind.
Robert Corrente, the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, and Jerry Elmer, the staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation in Rhode Island, debated the rights of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to habeas corpus, which is defined as a prisoner's right to seek legal relief from detainment.
Corrente and Elmer also addressed the options for future placement of these prisoners in front of an audience of about 30 people.
Corrente began by saying Guantanamo is a U.S. navy base that the United States leases, essentially at a perpetually renewable rate. Corrente said this area was chosen to serve its current purposes because it is a "well-defended, very secure spot" that does not offer any civilian spots for attacks to occur. He said the general public felt those in Guantanamo were "beyond all reach of habeas corpus [and] U.S. jurisdiction."
"You can read the whole U.S. Constitution and nowhere in the Constitution does it say that prisoners have the right to habeas corpus," Corrente said.
According to Corrente, it is important for people to discuss these issues and the United States has much to learn regarding its solutions and improvements surrounding such debates.
"A hundred years from now, anyone who studies constitutional law will realize that this time that we're living through is creating the foundations for the future," Corrente said.
Corrente gave historic examples of the mistreatment of prisoners of war.
Former president Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during his presidency in the 1800s.
"This is the president who is generally regarded as the greatest president we ever had," Corrente said.
Issues surrounding habeas corpus arose in two separate instances during World War II during which time several Nazis were granted habeas corpus. The second instance during WWII was that of German intelligence officers, who were being held in a German-ally controlled base in China, when they were denied a plea for habeas corpus by the United States because they were not on foreign soil.
"The courts started to realize the difference between talking about habeas corpus on American soil and on foreign soil," Corrente said.
Corrente said President Barack Obama issued several executive orders immediately following his inauguration. One of them called for the establishment of a non-criminal military detention center for enemies.
"We're dealing with people that are difficult to classify," Corrente said. "How do we know who is a terrorist and who we think is a terrorist?"
Obama has also said that he has plans to close Guantanamo within the next 12 months. According to Corrente, Congress has already taken action to prevent prisoners of Guantanamo to enter any region of the United States.
Elmer argued that one of the good things that came from Obama's presidency was the declaration "that the CIA is going to close all of its secret prisons and all the prisoners of war at Guantanamo will have the right to habeas corpus."
However, Elmer also argued that "when the Bush Administration decided to mistreat and torture prisoners, the U.S. violated the Geneva Conventions and turned its back on 200 years of agreements."
Later, Elmer said, "The U.S., in violation of international law, in violation of national law and in violation of 200 years of agreements, has abused prisoners, therefore making conventional cases difficult."
Elmer continued with historic examples to counter Corrente's arguments.
Historically, the British tortured prisoners during the Revolutionary War. Gen. George Washington, later to become President of the United States, made a policy that lasted until 2001, forcing the United States to treat the British and other prisoners of war humanely. Following WWI in 1929, the Geneva Convention banned the torture of POWs.
During WWII, Germany had 90,000 prisoners of war. Elmer said that in 1949, there were three new Geneva Conventions to determine the treatment of POWs.
Elmer also mentioned Obama's tripartite method of court system divisions. The first level of the system will release the prisoners at Guantanamo, the second level will be tried in an Article Three court and the third level will deal with the 110 "leftover" prisoners by other means of trials.
"Article Three are regular, normal, non-military federal courts," Elmer said.
"The zillion dollar question is once you shut down Guantanamo, you're going to have 110 people who can't be tried or released," Corrente said. "What are we going to do with them is the question."
According to Elmer, Bush ordered an allowance for secret arrests, secret trials and secret detentions on Nov. 13, 2001. He also said that prejudice in courts is a serious issue.
"Prejudice is a technical-legal term, it is something that would influence a jury or a judge and influence them on something not helpful to the case," Elmer said. "It is something that inflames the jury. I think it's wrong. I think it's a mistake and I think the government should try people properly or not at all."
On Feb. 9, the Obama administration admitted to following in the Bush administration's steps regarding the State Secrets Doctorate.
"I think the Bush administration policy of the State's Secrets Doctorate was wrong," Elmer said.
As Elmer's father once said to him, "How many times does something need to be on the front page of the New York Times before it's no longer a secret?"
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!