US Supreme Court stands by due process: Close Guantanamo

Finally, the Bush administration system of injustice is starting to fall apart.

Sign the petition: Close Guantánamo.

In a stunning blow to the administration’s failed detention policies, the Supreme Court ruled today in Boumediene v. Bush that the U.S. Constitution applies to the government’s detention policies at Guantánamo Bay. The Court made clear that detainees held at Guantánamo have a right to challenge their detention through habeas corpus.

Habeas corpus is the freedom from being thrown in prison illegally, with no help, no end in sight and no due process. As the ACLU has said all along, no president should ever be given the sole power to call someone an enemy, wave his or her hand, and lock that person away indefinitely.

You have helped the ACLU argue for years that America can be -- and must be -- both safe and free. Now, take heart in these words from today’s remarkable Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy:

"The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law."

The ACLU stands ready to stop any effort by the Bush administration to get around this decision. Right now, we need your help to make sure this decision marks the beginning of the end of the reprehensible practices that have been carried out in the name of the American people at Guantánamo Bay, including the failed Military Commissions system.

Tell America’s leaders that it’s time to close Guantánamo, end indefinite detention without charge, and restore the rule of law. Sign the ACLU’s Close Guantánamo petition right now.

The tide is turning. Be part of history by acting now to build on the Supreme Court’s clear-cut affirmation of habeas corpus. Because, if we do, this can truly be the beginning of the end for all the lawlessness and injustice we’ve worked so hard to expose and stop.

Thank you so much for all the hard work you’ve done and continue to do in the name of freedom. Today is truly a day for everyone who loves liberty to take heart and redouble our efforts to restore the Constitutional principles so eroded over the last eight years.

Together in freedom,
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU