[R-G] Alliance for Justice: SAVE HABEAS CORPUS: Sign the Petition!

[james m nordlund]

SAVE HABEAS CORPUS: Sign the Petition!
Habeas Petition Status Report:

The response to our original email was overwhelming -- thanks to
the thousands of you who lent your names to the petition and
joined our effort to restore habeas corpus. 

But we REALLY want to make our voice heard. If you haven't
signed on yet, now is the time to join your friends and sign the
petition (below) to restore habeas corpus and protect our
Constitution and our rights. 

Remember to forward this message on to your friends!
The more signatures we accumulate, the more powerful our voice. 

*********

RESTORE HABEAS CORPUS
Sign Online Petition and Forward to Your Friends

Last September, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of
2006 (MCA), which restricted habeas corpus rights, allowing the
government to continue holding prisoners at Guantanamo
indefinitely with no access to a fair hearing in court. 

Indefinite imprisonment without a fair trial or hearing is
unconstitutional and fundamentally un-American. Senators Arlen
Specter (R-PA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Christopher Dodd
(D-CT) have authored legislation to restore the right of habeas
corpus. 

The impact of the habeas corpus restrictions in the new MCA go
far beyond the walls of Guantanamo prison. The law allows the
government to arrest any non-citizen -- including permanent
residents in the United States -- and hold them indefinitely
without charge and with no access to an attorney or a fair
hearing. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO...There are three important steps you can take:

1. Add your name to the national on-line petition supporting
restoration of full habeas corpus rights - you can read the
petition online or below. 
To add your name, included below or online, email us at: 
allianceforjustice at afj.org
with your name and organization. 

2. Forward this email or our web page to your friends and
encourage them to sign the petition.
Our web page for the campaign to restore habeas corpus is at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/restore_habeas_corpus_2007/explanation

3. Send a letter to your Senators and House members supporting
the Specter-Leahy-Dodd legislation to restore habeas corpus
rights by going to: 
http://ga1.org/campaign/restore_habeas_corpus_2007

The restore habeas corpus petition is BELOW and online at

http://www.afj.org/restorehabeascorpus.pdf

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PETITION TO RESTORE HABEAS CORPUS

We call on the United States Congress to enact legislation that
will restore our Nation's commitment to law and freedom. 

In the fall of 2006, Congress passed a law governing military
commissions, which included a provision that stripped certain
detainees of their habeas corpus rights. Habeas corpus has been
the bedrock of our justice system for centuries. The Supreme
Court asserted that it "is the fundamental instrument for
safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless
state action." Without habeas rights, detainees are denied a
fair hearing in federal court to challenge the lawfulness of
their detention. The government is left free to imprison people
indefinitely without charge or trial or other fair hearing, no
matter how inhumane the conditions of confinement or the
treatment of the detainees. Such a policy is not only
unconstitutional, it is also fundamentally un-American and
undermines our national character.

It is time to join the scores of lawyers, law deans and
professors, politicians, religious leaders and military
officials who have condemned the denial of habeas corpus rights
to detainees and have called for a restoration of our
constitutional values. It is incumbent upon Congress to ensure
that our laws reflect who we are as a society, that we are a
people committed to accountability and basic fairness. In the
face of adversity, adhering to our values does not make us less
secure, but rather strengthens us as a nation. 

Protect freedom, fairness and due process of law. Restore habeas
corpus.

[YOUR NAME HERE]
--------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://ga1.org/join-forward.html?domain=afj&r=JdxuL6615XEe

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Alliance for Justice at:

http://ga1.org/afj/join.html?r=JdxuL6615XEeE


 
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