Innocent Is Nice, But Take a Hike
Pro or Per? When does prosecution become persecution?
Sami Amin al-Arian, a former professor at the University of South Florida, is the latest of the Justice Department’s failed cases against what they have claimed to be high profile terrorists. A jury found al-Arian and his three co-defendants not guilty on eight of 17 counts, including conspiracy to maim or murder. Deadlocked on the remaining counts, some jurors said a large majority favored acquittal on those counts as well.
Interestingly, during the trial jurors reported to the judge that a fellow juror (identified only as #325) tried to prejudice them against Al-Arian. It is the norm under such circumstances for a judge to remove the juror and replace them with an alternate. It’s never been explained why Judge Moody allowed the juror to continue to sit in judgment on the case and one can only surmise that this juror is the cause of the deadlocked counts.
Al-Arian is not one who holds views that are popular in this country because he…