Boston Bombing Suspect in Custody
I was just sitting down to write an update—really to let everyone know that my own family is safe and well following the Boston Marathon bombing and the following manhunt, just a few miles from my house—when I saw on the TV, "Suspect in custody." Well done and thanks, Boston area police! What a tremendous, professional job. As I write this, we still don't know any of the details, just that they took the suspect alive, a nineteen-year-old kid who somehow got drawn into being part of this atrocity of terrorism and murder. And we still have the unanswered question: Were the two brothers acting alone? The story is far from over, but God willing, the day of fear has come to an end.
Labels: public affairs
posted by Jeffrey A. Carver @ 9:20 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
We also have the unanswered question of "was he actually involved?" The coverage I've seen/heard has neglected to actually report any evidence linking the suspects to the bombing.
I think there's quite a lot of evidence, actually, ranging from the video footage and reports of them dropping a package at the site of the explosion, to a remote trigger and explosion-injuries found on the older brother, to the hijacking of the car and subsequent shootout, to the barrage of gunfire that came out of the boat when the younger one was trapped there.
You're right, of course, that it's important that the evidence be examined and tested. And I agree that the news media have not done a very good job (yet) of looking critically at a summary of the evidence. I hope they do that, and soon. This should not become a court of public sentiment.
The question of whether he should be accorded Miranda rights or treated as a wartime threat is a hard one. If they were working under the influence and direction of others (which I consider likely), then it's possible there's a continuing threat. I don't take lightly the waiving of a prisoner's right to a lawyer, but I also don't take lightly the possibility of further violence. I don't know the details of the law well enough to have a position on that.
With the information that's come out in the last 24 hours, any remaining doubt should be gone.
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