Terrorist needs concise definition

We are a people of compassion. We turn the other cheek and often we carry our sense of fair play to a fault. We follow political correctness and human rights to absurd measures.

So it is perhaps not surprising that the Supreme Court of Canada has thrown out the case against a suspected terrorist because the act of terrorism is not clearly defined in Canadian law.

In the current global atmosphere of political and religious violence, it is important that the courts are clear on what constitutes terrorism and that the fine points and nuances of the term are clarified, not only to ensure that human rights are protected, but also to guarantee that the rights of individuals are not put before the safety of the state.

Perhaps it is time for a complete overhaul of the language used in our constitution. What, for instance, is the definition of treason? It seemed clear enough when Louis Riel was executed in 1885 in the Canadian West, and when Sir Roger Casement was charged with treason in England in 1916 for committing acts that “tended to strengthen the enemies of the King� in World War I. Casement was tried, convicted and executed.

In World War II, William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) was a prominent broadcaster of propaganda from Germany. He was originally an American citizen of Irish descent who resided in England and held a British passport. The passport was still valid when he abetted the Nazis. Consequently, when the war was over he was tried in Britain, found guilty of treason and executed.

On the other hand, ‘Tokyo Rose’, the Japanese counterpart of Lord Haw Haw, was given a prison sentence and later lived in Canada.

The British Treason Act of 1842 contained a variation that classified as a misdemeanor, punishable by a seven-year servitude, the willful discharge…to point or aim…at the King…loaded or not…or to throw anything at the King.

History has not always been consistent in its definition or treatment of treasonable cases. Trumped up charges against numerous bishops in Britain resulted in their enduring uncomfortable experiences in the Tower.

The charge of treason was a catchall for having unpopular political opinions in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

Sir Thomas More was beheaded for high treason in 1535, although his crime was only having unpopular religious beliefs. The following year, Anne Boleyn’s head fell on Tower Green for high treason, although her crime was more likely adultery.

The poet Earl of Surrey was charged on flimsy evidence and executed in 1547.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for only 10 days, was executed for high treason, although her only crime was being married to Lord Dudley.

In the United States, treason is the act of waging war against the U.S., or giving aid to its enemies. The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg in the United States in 1953 is an example. As American citizens, they were convicted of transmitting top secret data on nuclear weapons to the USSR and were executed. The sentence might have been harsh had it not been for the Cold War, which raged at the time.

Other notable American examples of treason include the execution of John Brown, the idol of abolitionists, for his attempt to establish a free state for slaves in Maryland and Virginia in 1859.

There have been various treasonable assassinations and attempted assassinations across the border. Most of them have involved American presidents, among them President Lincoln.

John Wilkes Booth, a sympathizer of the South during the Civil War, conspired to assassinated the Union leaders. He shot the president in a theatre and was shot himself.

In 1881, President Grover Cleveland was shot by Charles Giteau, who was hanged. President McKinley was killed by a young anarchist in 1901 and was electrocuted for it.

Canada has little history of treasonable happenings, apart from the Louis Riel case. William Lyon Mackenzie, who led the rebellion of 1837, was granted amnesty. In 1970, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act to put down terrorists in the Quebec Liberation Front. Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte was murdered in the plot. Leaders of the uprising were given light prison sentences or left the country. They would return later.

One of the intriguing things about treason in North America is that without a clear definition of treason itself, any attempt to penalize treason by death would run into snags. Because of Canada’s federal ban on capital punishment, any death sentence given for treason would be negated. In the United States, it would depend on where the treason was committed, whether it is a state where capital punishment is permitted.