Save the Habe

I'm sure I don't need to tell you how vital Habeas Corpus is to our judicial system. You know that without habeas, our government can arrest us without a warrant, deny us a trial and hold us indefinitely without charging a crime. You remember that Padilla has been held incommunicado for the last 3 and a half years and still hasn't been charged with a crime.

I'm sure you're aware the Senate fringenuts, led by Graham, just passed a last minute amendment denying habeas protection to the prisoners at Gitmo. That's horrifying enough but it gets worse.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a second hearing on S. 1088 (pdf), a bill that would gut habeas corpus rights for [all] Americans.

Fortunately there are still some senators willing to protect our freedom. The Bingaman Amendment was immediately introduced to counter Sen. Graham's insane attack on our legal protections. Please visit One Million Phone March to Save Habeas a new website formed in response to this latest threat on due process and use their easy click and send letter to reach your legislators.

Be prepared to write your own letter on behalf of the Bingaman Amendment. And while you're at it, you may as well mention that you don't want them to support S. 1088 either, even if they're not on the committee. A little pre-emptive dissent couldn't hurt.