US military policeman sues Pentagon for beating by comrades during Gitmo training News
US military policeman sues Pentagon for beating by comrades during Gitmo training

[JURIST] Spc. Sean Baker, an ex-US military policeman, has sued the Pentagon alleging that his constitutional rights were violated during an assault by fellow soldiers [JURIST report] in a January 2003 training session that went awry in Guantanamo Bay. Baker voluntarily dressed in an orange jumpsuit and was told to act as an unruly detainee in a training drill that occurred in a separate wing for al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners who had attacked US MPs. He was told that the fellow soldiers knew he was an American, but a beating ensued that has caused him severe brain injuries and he has since been placed on medical leave. None of the soldiers has been disciplined after the Army's Criminal Investigation Division [official website] concluded no one was to blame for the incident. Baker has sued for $15 million and demands a reinstatement to serve in the US Army. The Los Angeles Times has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.