habeus corpus

A Confederate Soldier, on leave from war, was captured, imprisoned and denied any right to a trial. Though summoned by the Chief of Justice of the United States of America, John Merryman, by right of Habeas Corpus was denied a trial (Britannia Sec.1). In 1679 the incorporation of Habeas Corpus was granted to all citizens, authorizing judges to review a court case for all imprisoned perpetrators. At the outbreak of the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln repealed the original writ of Habeas Corpus and suspended the right stating that it could be revoked “in a case of rebellion or invasion if the public safety may require it”(Britannia sec.1). Through years of examining the United State’s government in school, I never fully understood the proceedings and the rights to a fair trial. After reading Habeas Corpus, an article reviewing the changes of the writ, I realized what might seem fair and honest never truly is. This article stunned and intrigued me. I was able to connect Lincoln’s alteration of this writ to that by President Roosevelt and in 1996 by President Bill Clinton (A.PA9).

William Rehnquist, author of, “All Lies But One”, believes that Abraham Lincoln had an obligation to suspend the right of Hab

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It limited the number of times one convicted felon could appeal for a new case, while shortening the time frame in which they had to do so from one hundred and twenty months to one year, but was far less drastic then those who served before him.

The changes made to the writ of habeas corpus are still imprecise. This enabled Clinton to gain the respect of numerous citizens who may have not supported him otherwise (Gergen 4). The Constitution states that Congress is the only branch granted power to bestow this denial upon Americans. Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt had justifiable motives for suspending the law, but should have submitted the proposition to congress for final authorization. eas Corpus in 1861 at the offset of the Civil War, as did Franklin D. I believe President Bill Clinton enacted to same proposition, but altered the formality of it. Now, the writ of habeas corpus prevents convicted criminals from appealing their case without sufficient proof of new impacting evidence, such as in the case of Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh (AP. Each of these three presidents has all found ways to work around the system to deny “certain inalienable rights” to the citizens of the United States.

William Rehnquist and David Gergen. I believe Clinton’s current motive for reinstating the writ of habeas corpus is a positive movement. Unless clarity is brought to the writ oh habeas corpus than history will continue to repeat itself. Unlike Lincoln or Roosevelt, Clinton passed this bill with the permission of the United States government, making it a legal change to the original law.

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