Gitmo Ex-Prosecutor to Testify for Defense in Military Trial

Posted by Nick Fiske, Jurist Legal News and Research at 11:33 AM on February 22, 2008.

Col. Morris Davis has decried the politicization of Gitmo's military tribunals. Now he's taking his critique to the witness stand.

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Former Guantanamo Bay chief military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis told the AP Thursday that he has agreed to appear as a defense witness in the military commission trial of Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan. In October 2007, Davis resigned from his position at Guantanamo Bay, saying that politics were interfering with the prosecutions process. In a Wednesday interview with The Nation, Morris alleged that Pentagon general counsel William Haynes told him that none of the detainees could be acquitted, implying that the tribunal process may be rigged. Hamdan's lawyers plan to argue at a preliminary hearing in April that this alleged political interference violates the rules governing war crimes trials established by the 2006 Military Commissions Act. AP has more.

In October 2007, Davis told the New York Times that he was pressured to use classified evidence against defendants in closed war crimes trials for detainees. Also in October, Davis said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Guantanamo prosecutions were becoming politicized. Davis said that recently approved rules governing prosecutions at Guantanamo Bay result in the chief prosecutor reporting [PDF memo text] via the Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority to the Pentagon general counsel [PDF memo text], a presidential appointee. Davis said he filed an internal complaint about this structure, but the complaint was rejected.

Tagged as: torture, guantanamo, military commissions act, morris davis, salim ahmed hamdan

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RE: bushites unfair? [Report this comment] Posted by: Lauren on Feb 23, 2008 10:34 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] This is the kind of situation where submission to god's will is all one can do. I feel for the accused, whoever they are, they never had a chance at a fair trial or treatment. I know their religious faith teaches acceptance of the trials of life, essentially they know they are helpless in satin's hands and god will deliver them. This faith is not wrong, it is all they have left. If they even have that. I feel for these men, they have been tortured. Even torturers should not be tortured. It is wrong. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: bushites unfair? Posted by: Longdream *Remember the provisions of the spit* US PATRIOT Act? [Report this comment] Posted by: Longdream on Feb 23, 2008 6:13 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] We talk a lot about wiretapping and habeas corpus, but not much about the other provisions which remove rights to a fair trial. For instance, a detainee may have a military lawyer appointed for him for the purposes of standing up at trial, but the prosecution side did not have to share their evidence with the defense--standard procedure of discovery in a real trial. Classified information could be used against him, but he couldn't use it in his own defense. Limits were also put on information available under the Freedom of Information Act. These and other provisions overstepped even the previous strictures on "enemy combatants" who are tried under military tribunal. Some of the first to protest this appearance of a "kangaroo court" were the military lawyers themselves. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Do you know? Posted by: Quannah » RE: Do you know? Posted by: Longdream » RE: Longdream Posted by: Quannah » RE: Longdream Posted by: Longdream Congratulations Col. Davis [Report this comment] Posted by: CJC on Feb 23, 2008 10:08 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] It gives me a little hope for an insider like Col. Davis to stand up for what he believes is right. Becoming part of the solution instead of part of the problem. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Congratulations Col. Davis Posted by: rinthy » RE: Congratulations Col. Davis Posted by: peacefullaim Real Patriotism** [Report this comment] Posted by: herbal on Feb 23, 2008 1:09 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Colonel Morris Davis exercises his sense of integrity, fair play and rule of Constitutional law. Good for him, inspite of any other way we may disagree. He is pro-American and anti-fascist. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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» RE: bushites unfair? Posted by: Longdream

» RE: Do you know? Posted by: Quannah

» RE: Do you know? Posted by: Longdream

» RE: Longdream Posted by: Quannah

» RE: Longdream Posted by: Longdream

» RE: Congratulations Col. Davis Posted by: rinthy

» RE: Congratulations Col. Davis Posted by: peacefullaim

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