Graffiti on the Walls of Valhalla

John Lindh was denied bail today.

For some people, this was a no-brainer. As Andrew Solovay, a person on one of the lists I'm on, put it:

"He changed his name, left the country, and moved to
the *other side of the freaking world*. He wrote letters to his family
saying how glad he was that he wasn't in America any more, then he stopped
writing completely. We found him and dragged him here in chains. And,
incidentally, he's up for several life sentences."

The last two are pretty convincing arguments. After all, we don't grant bail to accused murderers who've been brought in after being featured on America's Most Wanted.

Then again, John Lindh is not an accused murderer. He's an accused member of al Qaeda. And he wasn't caught in some dastardly al Qaeda terrorist plot. He was captured along with a bunch of other Taliban soldiers.

Why should this make a difference? Because unless the prosecution has some incredible incriminating evidence they haven't shared with the world, his only provable crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's not a crime to change your name. (In Japan, my name is Ehreekoo Neeroosehn.) It's not a crime to leave the country. (I left it twice for extended periods of time.) It's not a crime to move to the other side of the world. (I moved to Japan.) It's not a crime to be glad you're not in America nor to write letters to that effect. (I wrote letters to that effect.) It's not a crime to stop writing to people you know back in the States. (Although it is a faux pas and does nothing to endear you to those you've left behind, as I found out from personal experience.)

From all accounts, John Lindh left the country to study Arabic and Islam in Yemen in February 2000. Unless he's some kind of amazing prodigy (and accounts written by his fellow students assure us that he is/was not), I guarantee you that my Japanese is better than his Arabic. This leads me to ask:

Would you consider me a strong flight risk?

John Lindh may be a terrorist. He may be a loyal Taliban soldier. He may also be a stupid kid who got mixed up with the wrong ideology. I agree that we have to take all of these possibilities seriously. For the sake of his human rights, however, I personally believe that what he really needs is his Mom and Dad.

. . . it's not as if the FBI wouldn't be watching him 24/7 in his house anyway.