Tuesday 17th November 2009 | 07:29
In a much anticipated move, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, would stand trial at a federal court in New York. The Attorney General has received widespread criticism for his decision, but for a majority of Americans – albeit a narrow one – he has made the right call.
Caught in between two conflicting approaches to prosecuting suspects in terror cases, Americans are somewhat divided with a narrow majority of 52% believing the administration made the right call in deciding to prosecute Mohammed in New York. Supporters have argued that prosecuting terror suspects in courts of law highlights the primacy of American values and justice, which they argue is key to fighting terrorism. Democrats overwhelmingly support this viewpoint with 81% believing the AG made the right decision.
Conversely, 39% of Americans think the administration made the wrong decision. Opponents have claimed that terror suspects should be treated as war criminals and as such prosecuted by military commission. Many have also argued that they should not be afforded the rights of US citizens, which is guaranteed in a civilian court. In perfect symmetry to the Democrats, 81% of Republicans oppose the decision to prosecute Mohammed in New York.
In a reflection of the overall results, Independents broke 51% to 39% in favor of the AG’s decision.
PoliticsHome interviewed 1,334 American voters by email from November 13 to November 16. The results are weighted to represent the United States politically.
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