Perhaps this little American concept eludes you: innocent until proven guilty.
I could bring up (false) charges against you, claiming you are harboring terrorists.
And if those charges are dropped, does that give me any right to keep insisting otherwise?
Funny... but part of Davis' defense against the treason charge is that he had already been found guilty and punished, by way of the provisions of the 14th Amendment.
3 entries found for treason.
trea·son Audio pronunciation of "treason" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (trzn)
n.
1. Violation of allegiance toward one's country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one's country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies.
2. A betrayal of trust or confidence.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman treson, from Latin trditi, trditin-, a handing over. See tradition.]
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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Main Entry: trea·son
Pronunciation: 'trEz-&noun
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French treison crime of violence against a person to whom allegiance is owed, literally, betrayal, from Old French traïson, from traïr to betray, from Latin tradere to hand over, surrender
: the offense of attempting to overthrow the government of one's country or of assisting its enemies in war; specifically : the act of levying war against the United States or adhering to or giving aid and comfort to its enemies by one who owes it allegiance —trea·son·ous /-&s/ adjective
Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
treason
n 1: a crime that undermines the offender's government [syn: high treason, lese majesty] 2: disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior [syn: subversiveness, traitorousness] 3: an act of deliberate betrayal [syn: treachery, betrayal, perfidy]