Washington
, DC
– House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike
Skelton (D-MO) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John
Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation today which would
uphold the principle of habeas corpus by amending existing
law to allow individuals detained, often for many years
without formal charges, to have their day in court.
“Last year when Congress passed the Military Commissions
Act, I argued that the bill was seriously flawed by provisions
which unconstitutionally stripped the federal courts of
jurisdiction over
habeas cases,”
Skelton said. “Today, Chairman
Conyers and I have introduced legislation to undo this mistake,
and I am pleased to be joined by so many other members in
advancing this important change.”
“Habeas Corpus is one of the fundamental touchstones of
our constitutional democracy,”
Conyers said. “We cannot preach
freedom abroad if we are not willing to give prisoners the
ability to establish their innocence; and, we cannot advance
the cause of fighting terrorism at home if our government takes
constitutionally dubious short cuts.”
“The
last thing that we want is to convict an individual for
terrorism and then have that conviction overturned because of
fatal flaws in the Military Commissions law passed in the
previous Congress. Military judges have already dismissed
charges against two suspected terrorists because of
deficiencies in the legal framework hurriedly adopted last
year. Amending the
habeas provisions of the Military Commissions Act will
significantly improve this law and help us stay true to our
nation’s values,” said
Skelton.
H.R.2826 accomplishes two main goals. It upholds the
principle of habeas corpus as applied to detainees, allowing
them to challenge their indefinite detention without
trial. Detainees who are being detained in active combat
zones, such as
Iraq
and Afghanistan, will continue to not be allowed to file
habeas petitions. The bill also permits habeas courts to
review the actions of a Military Commission established under
the Military Commissions Act.
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