What happened to Sixth Amendment?
Amendment VI of the Constitution of the United States: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.”
What happened?
Congress passed and the president has signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes Section 1031 and 1032 that effectively strip United States citizens of their Sixth Amendment rights. Anyone who might be considered a threat to our country can be arrested and never heard from again.
Consider this scenario: You are sitting in a restaurant, discussing the Afghan War with your friends. There happens to be a special agent in the next booth who overhears your conversation and decides you could be threat. You later walk out to your car; he arrests you on suspicion of treason. You are whisked away and thrown into a military prison — no call to your family, no right to a trial — you simply disappear.
Sound far-fetched? Of course. Could it happen? Yes.
Why hasn’t the news media given this story the coverage it deserves? Where is the outrage? And what’s next?
Theresa Bell
Wood Dale