US re-charging Guantanamo detainees Hicks, Khadr, Hamdan News
US re-charging Guantanamo detainees Hicks, Khadr, Hamdan

[JURIST] The US military announced Friday it has drafted new charges against three high-profile Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees. Col. Morris Davis (USAF) [official profile, PDF], chief prosecutor for the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions, said that the new charges against Australian David Hicks [JURIST news archive; 2004 charges, PDF], Canadian Omar Khadr [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive; 2004 charges, PDF], and Yemeni Salim Ahmed Hamdan [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive; 2004 charges, PDF] included murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorists under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [PDF text; CRS summary; JURIST news archive]. The original charges against the three had to be dropped after the US Supreme Court ruled the original military commissions system established by President Bush unconstitutional without Congressional authorization [JURIST report].

The new charges will not be considered formal until they are approved, which Davis said is expected to take an additional two weeks. With regard to Hicks, who faces charges for attempted murder, Davis told the Melbourne Age that he did not intend to "argue for [the maximum penalty of a] life sentence". AP has more. The Age has local coverage from Australia on the Hicks charges. The Toronto Globe & Mail has local coverage on the charges against Omar Khadr. Reuters has additional coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

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On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.