Officer off Gitmo jury for agreeing with Obama (juror wants to close Gitmo)

NBc News ^ | Aug 11, 2010 | Michael Isikoff

[Ready4Freddy]

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — A veteran U.S. Army officer who agreed with President Barack Obama that the Guantanamo Bay prison should be closed was excluded from the jury in a U.S. military commission trial Wednesday after prosecutors objected that he had "pre-conceived" views that might jeopardize their case.

The move came as prosecutors and jurors selected a seven-person jury of military officers to hear the case of Omar Khadr, the so-called "child soldier" accused of hurling a hand grenade that killed an American soldier in a firefight in Afghanistan eight years ago.

Khadr, now 23, has spent a third of his life at Guantanamo. He is accused of murder and attempted murder in the first trial before the Obama administration’s revamped military commissions.

During the jury selection process, the Army officer — who described himself as having an academic background in history and foreign policy — was questioned by prosecutor Jeff Groharing as to whether he had any views about Guantanamo.

"I agree with the president: The detention facility should be closed," said the officer, known only as Juror No. 16. (His name, like that of other potential jurors in the case, was not made public.)

[Ready4Freddy]

"But when chief prosecutor Jeff Groharing later had an opportunity to exclude members of the jury pool, he zeroed in on Juror No. 16 and used his one exclusion permitted under military commission rules to keep the Army officer off the jury panel. "It’s clear he has a lot of opinions," Groharing said. “I think he has preconceived ideas that detainees were mistreated." "

[onyx]

WOO-HOO WHACK!

[Rocketwolf68]

Good! I've seen many fifteen year olds that were a menace to society and were turned back onto the street to commit even greater crimes- fry him. I just served on a jury where this punk shot a bystander in the neck fatally when shooting at his gang-member rival and walked. Idiots on the jury said they couldn't convict even though they had him on video. His “youthful indiscretions" put him back in the community.

[Ready4Freddy]

I’ve wondered why this Afghani yute wasn’t killed at the time of his attack.

[Ready4Freddy]

‘scuse, the Egyptian-Pali-Paki-Canadian yute. He just happened to be in Afghanistan at the time.

The whole family is a real piece of work.

[Sun]

Update:

“EXCLUSIVE: Intel Report Confirmed 18 Freed Gitmo Detainees Returned to Terror—Including in Afghanistan—Before Obama Ordered Closing of Prison
Thursday, September 02, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer “

excerpt http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/72090