Just before the U.S. House of Representatives closed up shop so that members could go on summer vacation, Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced legislation that would outlaw “premeditated and intentional use of lethal force against a United States citizen” by the government. The legislation provides exemptions for people who have been put on trial and found guilty of serious crimes and people who are directly engaged in hostilities against the United States. The right of law enforcement officers to kill in self-defense or the defense of others is also allowed for by the law.
The legislation sounds non-controversial, doesn’t it? If only that were the case.
The bill, H.R. 6010, was crafted in response to the revelations earlier this year that the Obama Administration had crafted a list of American citizens who would be targeted for assassination. The citizens were suspected of connections to terrorists who were planning attacks against the United States. “Being a U.S. citizen will not spare an American from getting assassinated by military or intelligence operatives overseas if the individual is working with terrorists and planning to attack fellow Americans,” said Admiral Dennis Blair.
Being a suspect, however, is not the same thing as being guilty of a crime. Our nation’s Constitution grants all people, including American citizens, the right to a fair trial before they are judged guilty and punished. A criminal prosecution cannot consist of a committee of government bureaucrats deciding that a person seems to be guilty. The Sixth Amendment reads, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
It may seem inconvenient to have to apprehend criminal suspects and put them on trial. On the other hand, being assassinated without a chance to confront one’s accusers is inconvenient as well.
The following members of Congress have joined Kucinich in supporting H.R. 6010:
John Conyers
Keith Ellison
Bob Filner
Raul Grijalva
Jesse Jackson
Peter Stark
Those who commit treason are not Americans, kill them.
How do you establish that someone is guilty of treason, Terry? Oh, it’s on the tip of my tongue.
You put them on braile? No, that’s not it.
You put them on trail? That’s closer, but no.
Maybe you could help me with this one.