Rumsfeld says no plans to close Guantanamo News
Rumsfeld says no plans to close Guantanamo

[JURIST] Despite increasing pressure to close the US military prison [JURIST report] for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld [official profile] said Thursday that the government did not have any plans to shut down the facility any time soon. Rumsfeld told a NATO news conference [MP3 audio] that the move to close Guantanamo Bay would raise many more questions, including what would become of the prisoners housed there. In a FOX News interview Wednesday, President Bush addressed the closing of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] and said that the government was "exploring all alternatives" for the future. Other Pentagon officials have also said that the detention center will not be closing. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.