Future black mark on U.S. history

Re “Guantanamo closure not an easy prospect,” April 14

Having just watched the better part of the “John Adams” series on HBO, and having a basic knowledge of the Constitution, it seems to me unlikely that our founding fathers would have stood behind the Bush administration’s assumption that offshore detentions at Guantanamo can be justified without sufficient evidence to bring charges.

At some point, our detention policies will become too much for the American public and judiciary to stomach. We now see individuals, some taken in their teens, who have spent five years in prison without a trial. When that becomes a decade, it will be a glaring affront to our basic sense of justice. These indefinite detentions without prosecution will end up in the history books alongside the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of Japanese Americans and the McCarthy era -- huge black splotches on our record for upholding individual liberties.

Maria Matan

Novato, Calif.

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The Times elucidates the complex legal and moral deficit the Bush administration happily wills to the next president. Although the article notes the logistical hang-ups, the moral questions U.S. officials will face also must be posed. In the prosecution and sentencing of detainees, will the courts take into account the years these men have already served without charge, in harsh and inhuman conditions? As for the detainees released, will the United States simply send them to their home countries, where they could be at risk of torture or ill treatment? Will anyone be held accountable for gross violations of domestic and international law?

It is no surprise that damage control of this magnitude will be no easy task. How the United States closes Guantanamo is just as -- if not more -- important than how it was operated. But the buck needs to stop somewhere. The next president has no other option than to shutter the detention facility and handle detainees with humanity and due process.

Larry Cox

Executive Director

Amnesty International

USA, New York