Our view

Despite demands from the right, the Obama administration yesterday announced that accused Boston Marathon bomber Dhokhar Tsarnaev would not be tried as an enemy combatant.

Over the weekend the most vocal of this crowd, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were joined in a statement by fellow Republicans Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Peter King from New York. They expressed seemingly valid concerns, including the information that might be lost to the protection offered by Miranda rights and the slow pace of criminal investigations.

Yet police and FBI are questioning the suspect under a public safety exception to Miranda, bypassing the first concern. Some legal scholars point out that civilian cases move more rapidly than military tribunals and, more importantly, the senators could cite no evidence that Tsarnaev--a naturalized U.S. citizen--acted as part of an organization declared in opposition to this country.

While we share the senators’ concerns regarding the discovery and prevention of future terrorist acts, we also believe enemy combatant status is not a label to be used rashly. America’s court system has proven quite effective at convicting terrorists and mass murderers.

Some on the talk show circuit, including Fox’s Steve Doocy, referenced a 2010 case in which a civilian court acquitted a terror suspect on most of the 282 charges leveled against him. But Doocy pointedly ignored the outcome of that trial: a sentence of life without parole, the same as if he had been convicted on all counts.

Even if labeled a terrorist, Tsarnaev would have less to fear from a military tribunal, according to recent comparisons.

In 2009, federal--i.e., civilian--courts recorded a 91 percent conviction rate in such cases. A year later the figure stood at 89 percent. A New York court that might have heard several key cases until opposition returned the folders to Guantanamo had at the time a 100 percent conviction rate.

Most of the detainees held at the Cuba facility since 2001 were moved to overseas cells or sent home. Meanwhile two of seven convictions attained by military tribunal were overturned.

Justice must prevail in the Boston Marathon case. Investigating and trying the accused under the civilian court system is the proper, legal course.