The Courage to Resist: Watada To Face Court Martial Tomorrow

Published: November 8, 2007, 3:46 pm

(guest blogged by miss kitty) “No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ” Excerpted from the Fifth Amendment of the United States of America So what is happening with Lt. Ehren Watada? Znet: The double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution ensures that no American can be tried twice for the same offense. But at a time when our civil liberties are rapidly eroding, a drama is unfolding in Washington State over whether that constitutional protection applies to a US soldier. After his February court-martial ended in a mistrial, Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse to serve in Iraq, seemed certain to face a second court-martial on October 9 at Fort Lewis, an Army base near Tacoma. Three military courts had rejected Watada’s claim of double jeopardy, finding no abuse of discretion by the military judge in declaring a mistrial. But in an unusual civilian intervention in a military

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