Taylor's son sentenced in US for torture in Liberia
Charles 'Chuckie' Taylor Jr was sentenced to 97 years for leading attacks against those opposed to his father's rule
* McClatchy newspapers
* guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 January 2009 19.47 GMT
* Article history
Son of ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor was sentenced to 97 years in prison today in landmark torture case that grew out of a US investigation into arms trafficking in Liberia.
Charles ''Chuckie'' Taylor Jr was convicted in October of leading a campaign of torture against people opposed to his father's rule. Although he wasn't charged with killing any of them, his indictment alleged that he killed at least one of seven victims.
Federal prosecutors had cited the murder allegation in recommending that US District Judge Cecilia Altonaga send the former Orlando, Florida, resident to prison for 147 years, stemming from his convictions on eight conspiracy, torture and firearm charges.
Assistant US Attorney Caroline Heck Miller called Taylor's violent conduct a ''gross offence against the public,'' urging the judge to impose consecutive sentences.
His defence lawyers countered that Taylor, 31, was not convicted of murder and therefore should be imprisoned for seven to 20 years.
Taylor Jr was tapped by his father to command an anti-terrorist unit called the 'Demon Forces' that beat, burned and beheaded Liberian civilians from 1999 to 2003, the jury concluded.
The Miami criminal case - which took place at the same time the father, Charles Taylor, faced a war-crimes tribunal in the Netherlands - marked the first US prosecution of torture committed in a foreign country.
The son was charged under a 1994 law that permits the federal government to prosecute anyone suspected of carrying out torture outside the country as long as the suspect is a US citizen, legal resident or is present in this country, regardless of nationality.
Federal authorities, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the FBI, said they were proud of prosecuting the landmark case because it sends a powerful message to torturers who might try to evade justice by sneaking into the United States - as Taylor tried to do in March 2006 when he was arrested after flying from Trinidad to Miami on a false passport.
''We see this as a landmark investigation and conviction that provides a deterrent against those who want to use the United States as a safe haven,'' said ICE Acting Assistant Secretary John Torres.
Federal officials said the torture investigation spanned three continents and involved dozens of legal attaches, agents and prosecutors travelling abroad to interview hundreds of witnesses - including five victims who were brought to Miami to testify against Taylor Jr.
At trial, witnesses accused him and his soldiers of horrific torture in the west African country. Among the techniques: electric shock, molten plastic, lit cigarettes, hot irons, bayonets and biting ants shovelled onto people's bodies. Prisoners were kept in water-filled pits covered by heavy iron gates and barbed wire.
Federal authorities said that the torture case was an offshoot of a 2003 investigation into arms trafficking in Liberia to support the senior Taylor's oppression of rebels.
''As we interviewed witnesses in the arms trafficking investigation, many of them said they had been tortured by Chuckie Taylor,'' Torres said.
I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the part where the prosecutor talked about deterrence (see boldface). I can't wait for these same feds to go after Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Gonzalez, et al.
Elfdart wrote:I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the part where the prosecutor talked about deterrence (see boldface). I can't wait for these same feds to go after Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Gonzalez, et al.
"Because torture is bad, you know. But if it's an American doing the torturing, it's OK."
Elfdart wrote:I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the part where the prosecutor talked about deterrence (see boldface). I can't wait for these same feds to go after Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Gonzalez, et al.
"Because torture is bad, you know. But if it's an American doing the torturing, it's OK."
Would it be over-the-top if I said that?
No but it would make more sense if you Nixon-ized it to say "When the President does it then its not Torture."
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"I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of god. I have seen too much religion in the eyes of too many murderers. Holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness. "
-Kingdom of Heaven
Prosecution for war crimes? Ha! That's for people from Third World countries. If they can't get their opposition to lay down like sheep the way the Democrats did for me, FUCK 'EM!
