lawyers

There is a debate trying to start regarding the practice of lawyers defending individuals whom most people consider to be bad, bad characters - particularly terrorists.

The most obvious example of an arguably intensely patriotic individual - taken from our history as a nation - is of course our second President John Adams' service (prior to his Presidency) as defense attorney for the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre trial.

Acting in that capacity was not easy for Adams, but he did it because he understood that justice demands fair and effective representation on both sides of any case.

That concept remains true to this day, as it ever will. Whether our society chooses to see the value of (and need for) justice under law is another issue. This is not always easy in the case of heinous acts, whether or not they were successfully carried out. But if we selectively deny rights based upon whim or gut reaction, our entire foundation is weakened.

Care must be taken in capital cases. I support the death penalty as a concept and punishment, but we had best be damned sure we strap the real guilty party to the table.

And what our enemies would like to see most of all is not soldiers injured or killed by IED's or mortars. They would be overjoyed if we threw away justice in the name of paranoia.