“The government may not deprive citizens of “life, liberty, or property without due process of the law” (N.A, 2010). When interpreted this means the government has laws to follow before a person can be determined innocent or guilty if either aren’t proven the detainee must be let free. This paper is going to attempt to analyze the historical evolution of Habeas Corpus; give examples from history of the suspension of Habeas Corpus, as well as analyzing it relevance. Habeas Corpus derived from English common law and first appeared in the Magna Carta of 1215 and is the oldest human right in history. Habeas Corpus translated means “you should have the body” habeas corpus is a legal action, or writ, by which those imprisoned unlawfully can seek relief from their imprisonment” (N.A, Habeas Corpus-The Rutherford Institute, 2015). Habeas Corpus was extremely important to the Framers of the Constitution from their personal experiences. When one was capture they were considered either an enemy combatant, imprisoned indefinitely and denied the opportunity to have a fair trial. It became increasing to the founders to protect the American people from such atrocities. March 4, 1801 President Jefferson in his first inaugural addressed the necessity of habeas corpus. President Jefferson belief was found the “freedom of person under the protection of the Habeas Corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected” (N.A, Habeas Corpus-The Rutherford Institute, 2015).
There have been only two cases where habeas corpus was suspended in history. In the case of Ex Parte Merryman Lincoln declared martial law on Maryland because of John Merryman whom was a pro-confederate lieutenant in the Maryland Military and was involved in recruiting and trainer soldiers for the confederacy in addition to cutting telegraph wires and blowing rail and bridge lines up. Lincoln was also afraid that Maryland would succeed from the union. (Levin-Waldman, 2012) The second case of the habeas corpus being suspended was during Reconstruction when President Grant responded to the Ku Klux Klan civil rights violations and then it was limited to nine countries in the South Carolina. (N.A, Habeas Corpus-The Rutherford Institute, 2015)
As time has progressed habeas corpus has evolved in America today. Habeas corpus is used as instrument used to ensure that a prisoner has been detained for lawful reasons. American laws are greatly influenced by traditional English laws. Habeas corpus is held in high esteem when it comes to the justice system to safeguard the civil liberties of each citizen. Habeas corpus is still important in today’s laws because it mainly deals the right of defendants to be charged with a crime and tried in a timely manner.
In an attempt to suspend the writs of habeas corpus 2007 President Bush issued presidential directive which allowed him to assume control of the federal government following the tragedies of 9/11. This is considered Imperil Presidency which means the president had power to do whatever he liked because there is a crisis and subsequently need to exercise his authority. (Levin-Waldman, 2012) President Bush suspended writs of habeas corpus through his support and signing into law of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The “Military Commission Act of 2006, states, “No court, justice or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination” (N.A, 28. U.S. code 2241 , 2015). The Act suspends the right of “unlawful enemy combatants” to be present or represented by someone on their behalf. The bill almost gave the President an unlimited power when it came to establishing and conducting military commissions to try individuals considered “unlawful enemy Combatants” held by the United States in Global War on Terrorism. As stated earlier President Bush was not the only president to suspend the writs of habeas corpus. Abraham Lincoln ordered the suspension shortly after the American Civil War in 1861.
Boumediene V Bush is one such known case where habeas corpus has been utilized against the U.S and it reasons and to why there is a need for a suspension of habeas corpus of those who are “enemy combatants”, or “illegal combatants”. In 2002 Lakhdar Boumediene and five other Algerian natives were accosted by Bosnian police when intelligence officers suspected them of the plot to attack the U.S. embassy. Boumediene filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus siting due process violations among other allegations. The challenge in the case was whether it is legal for the U.S to continuously keep Boumediene and his comrades detained. In a 2008, 5-4 majority vote by the justices the prisoner was determined to have right to habeas corpus under the Constitution.
After doing research on Habeas Corpus In my opinion, I believe that everyone should have access to due process and fair trails before a jury of their peers then and only then should they be considered innocent or guilty it is not the design for men to judge because the chances of holding grudges and not being ambiguous . This country was built to protect the civil liberties and rights to its constituents not take their rights away. In my opinion, this is what is happening at GITMO in majority of the cases. I do understand the seriousness for those that are detained but how can anyone be accused of war crimes or either an enemy combatant without due process of the law? Even though being held they should have the right to have their cases heard by the courts. (HAWKE, 2007) Some have been imprisoned for years just because of association or heritage. For example there is the case of Mohamedou Slahi who has written a book about the horrible and unspeakable acts of GITMO. Mohamedou is a 44 year old electrical engineer and has been held in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was accused of being a member of Al Qaeda and recruiting three of the hijackers in the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as several other plots. He has never been charged with a crime and his lawyers insists that there is very little evidence against him. (Davey-Attlee, 2015) During his time there he falsified information to stop the brutality. What is happening at GITMO is a representation of our judicial system and our tax dollars go to maintain a prison for those that have not been able to have their cases heard before a federal judge and jury. Seems like a waste of taxpayers’ money and this is not the interpretation of the writ of habeas corpus. This is exactly why our current President Barack Obama is doing everything in his power to shut it down. “Obama remains deeply committed to closing Guantanamo despite these obstacles, because the case for it continues to grow. The first commander of the prison facility at Guantanamo, retired Major General Michael R. Lehnert, recently came out strongly in favor of closing the detention center he helped create. Lehnert argues that we can manage the risk associated with releasing detainees who may take up the fight against the United States, but the “risks associated with keeping Guantanamo open are harder to mitigate, and the harm will be far more lasting” (Gude, 2015).
In my opinion terrorist that have been convicted being a public threat should not have access to habeas corpus. It has been proven they that they are threat to society and will not be a productive member. Now, on the other hand this detainee is freed then has the opportunity to unite with others that believe in the same cause as he does and now there is a greater threat to American soil. Then other on the other hand you have those who were falsely accused of crime and being held without their day in court. What about those people?
Even now when a person is being detained by the court of law they have their date in court to prove their innocence. Once the proper procedures have been followed they have been either released or sentenced justly for the crime(s) they have committed. As one thinks on the other side of the spectrum if this student was detained overseas I would aspect due process of the law after all while on American soil I would have that privilege. Fifth Amendment clearly states that the government may not deprive citizens of “life, liberty, or property without due process of the law”. In my opinion Habeas Corpus will continue to be difficult topic to discuss because you have those that are straddling the fence such as myself. I feel that everyone should be entitled to due process of the law but when convicted of trying to cause bodily harm to other individuals as well as yourself my thoughts are different because while a person is thinking of doing bodily harm to others they aren’t thinking about how it would affect families or even their families that matter.
In conclusion this paper has attempted to analyze the historical evolution of Habeas Corpus; give examples from history of the suspension of Habeas Corpus, as well as analyzing it relevance.

References

Davey-Attlee, F. (2015, January 22). Inmates book exposes horrors of Gitmo. Retrieved from cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/america/guantanamo-bayprisoner-book
Gude, K. (2015, January 22). Closing Gitmo: Obama must confront Congress. Retrieved from newsweek.com: http://www.newsweek.com/closing-gitmo-Obama-must-confront-congress
HAWKE, A. (2007, June 29). Primer: Guantanamo Detainees' Rights. Retrieved from Naptional Public Radio: http://www.npr.org1templates/story/sotry.php?storyID=11600605
Levin-Waldman, O. (2012). American Government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
N.A. (2010, January 30). Bill of Rights Institue: Fifth Amendment: Due process/Bill of Rights. Retrieved from www.billofrightsinstitute.org: http://www.billofrigtsinstitute.org
N.A. (2015). 28. U.S. code 2241 . Retrieved from Power to Grant Writ: https://www.law.cornell.edu.us.code>title28 part VI>chapter 153>2241
N.A. (2015, Jan 30). Habeas Corpus-The Rutherford Institute. Retrieved from rutherford.org: http://www.rutherford.org/constitutional_corner/habeas_corpus