Civilian justice system works just fine for terrorists

Published 10:43 am Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Where was John Carlson’s outrage in December 2001, when Richard “Shoe Bomber” Reid was “lawyered up” and placed “in civilian rather than military custody” by the Bush Justice Department? The judge in the case made Reid’s status clear: “You are not a soldier in any army, you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature.”

And, lest Mr. Carlson forget, Reid is spending the rest of his life under super maximum security, convicted on all counts. The civilian justice system worked, and Umar Farouk Abdulmullatab should be tried under that same system.

John Elsbree, Bellevue