Something Like Justice

The Toronto Star bellows that "Omar Khadr finally buckled before a discredited American military tribunal and provided the guilty plea it was set up to elicit. But nothing like justice has been done in this wretched case." Daphne Eviatar declares the plea "a sad day for the rule of law in the United States." I confess I had a somewhat different reaction. To me the plea and the adjudication look at least something like justice--and maybe quite a lot like justice. Let's start with the basics. Omar Khadr has now admitted to some horrible crimes. Most importantly, he killed people in a firefight, including a U.S. serviceman, without the soldier's lawful entitlement to use force. Though many people, keen to paint him as an innocent child soldier, have raised questions about his factual guilt, he admits this now and there's no good reason to doubt it. He has been ably represented by competent counsel and the plea is clearly voluntary after a protracted negotiation. If an adult had committed such crimes, a very extended sentence would surely be appropriate, and this one would be laughable. But Khadr was not an adult when he did these things. He was 15. He was operating in an environment in which his family as a unit had essentially joined Al Qaeda. He had grown up in the organization. When most children went to school, he went to Afghanistan. None of this make his crimes less grave, but they do present significant mitigating circumstances. Under the deal, Khadr will reportedly serve as many as eight more years in prison, though the sentencing jury could give him less time. That will bring his total time served locked up to as many as 17 years. I don't know what the right amount of time is for someone to serve in prison for happily working with Al Qaeda, having grown up in it, and participating in an unlawful and very lethal military engagement. But 17 years seems in the right ballpark to me. It certainly doesn't seem like a sad day for the rule of law.