Russ Feingold speaks up for habeas corpus

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 9:22 AM on September 28, 2006.

Senator Russ Feingold denounced the torture bill on the Senate floor today. His statement is available in in print and on mp3.

This is how real Democrats talk:

One of the most disturbing provisions of this bill eliminates the right of habeas corpus for those detained as enemy combatants. I support an amendment by Senator Specter to strike that provision from the bill. I ask unanimous consent that my separate statement on that amendment be put in the record at the appropriate point.

Habeas corpus is a fundamental recognition that in America, the government does not have the power to detain people indefinitely and arbitrarily. And that in America, the courts must have the power to review the legality of executive detention decisions.

Habeas corpus is a longstanding vital part of our American tradition, and is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

As a group of retired judges wrote to Congress, habeas corpus “safeguards the most hallowed judicial role in our constitutional democracy – ensuring that no man is imprisoned unlawfully.”

Mr. President, this bill would fundamentally alter that historical equation. Faced with an executive branch that has detained hundreds of people without trial for years now, it would eliminate the right of habeas corpus.

You want tough on national security? Russ is tough. He just told the president of the United States that he's on the verge of destroying our constitutional democracy! The weak Democrats are the ones who are too timid to uphold the Constitution.

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.