I aim to please.
Thing is I'm not the judge or jury so it doesn't really matter does it? I didn't think OJ was innocent either even before his trial. I kind of suspect that a Canadian captured by American forces in Afghanistan in a battle with Al Qaeda forces wasn't just out sight seeing. As for not accepting the 'mountain of abuse and torture' actually I'm perfectly willing to accept actual evidence. As I said "the other accusations they would need looked into and I don't doubt that abuse frequently happens in prisons but at the same time someone claiming something doesn't automatically make it true." So I'm not sure why you've decided I would automatically dismiss allegations of abuse... I don't... I just think that they need to be investigated before automatically being assumed to be true. Weren't you just complaining about the assumption of innocence or does that only apply to non-prison staff? My cynical side says that 1. The prison has come under the spotlight for it's abuse of prisoners which suggests at very least such claims need to be thoroughly considered but also 2. If I was prisoner and was about to undergo trial or was simply under the public eye I or at least my lawyers would likely claim I suffered abuse.
This 'kid' grew up in Canada that's hardly a country with a highly charged religious situation or a war. He travelled to Afghanistan. I take your point that kids can't totally be held responsible for the actions but still I think arguing that a 15 year old has no responsibility for his actions is laughable. If it turns out he was being brainwashed from year dot I would agree but we don't know that from any of the reports. What I do know is that a lot of young people that get involved with terrorist organisations, say like those involved in blowing up the tube in London, are not from families that forced propaganda down their throats since they were conceived. Such people are seemingly often enough from nice families with moderate beliefs that it makes assuming they've been brainwashed not warranted. I'm also not so quick to assume that just because someone is 15 they have no sense of what they are doing. Also, the good thing about my opinions is that they aren't enough to determine US law so even though I think that this particular 15 year old is not an innocent little 'kid' it doesn't effect how he is treated one jot.
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