USU professors look at Walker’s role in terrorism
After the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., last September, the war on terrorism has become an ongoing process, even in the courtroom. One of America’s most complicated court cases, that of a California college student charged with conspiracy, is demanding attention.
According to the arrest warrant filed in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria, John Philip Walker, a U.S. citizen, was charged with “engaging in a conspiracy, while outside the United States, namely, United States nationals engaged in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan … providing, attempting to provide and conspiring to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, namely al-Qaeda;” and “engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban.”
The warrant also related Walker with the “violent” death of Johnny Michael Spann, an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency. The warrant suggests Walker’s participation in the Sept. 11 attack, of which if found guilty, will land him on an account of treason. Treason can be punished by the death sentence.
According to a Jan. 16 article in The Washington Post, however, there is insufficient evidence to plead Walker guilty of treason.
In the article, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said, “Prosecutors would continue to seek evidence that could prove capital offense such as treason.”
According to the article, in order for an individual to be indicted for treason, at least two witnesses must be required to testify against the defendant.
Although Walker might end up in jail for life, there is still no case to put him to death, said Larry Booth, professor of political science at Utah State University. He said the government doesn’t want to charge Walker as a traitor because the definition of a traitor is not easy to define. The difficulty is due to the country’s recognition of dual citizenship in the 1980s, he said.
“Waters are muddy now that dual citizenship is allowed,” Booth said. “Here, you’ve got a fuzzy-wuzzy case.”
Booth also said this is going to be a difficult case because “[Walker] harmed the national security of the U.S.”
In response to why the death sentence is not given as an option for Walker’s case, Booth said the government needs to prove Walker as an active participant of the terrorist attacks against the country before the defendant can be charged with treason. In other words, Booth said, the court has to have sufficient evidence without any doubts that Walker is a traitor.
The first difficulty in such a case, Booth said, is Walker’s citizenship. He said the defendant might have had a second citizenship during the time of his arrest which may cause a problem in determining which country the defendant is a traitor of. And even though there is evidence Walker was involved with al-Qaeda, the United States has no grounds as of yet to plead him guilty of being a traitor because the al-Qaeda is an organization and not a country, he said. Booth said although according to the warrant, “al-Qaeda’s purpose was to fight Americans,” not that everyone in the al-Qaeda is involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.
“[Walker] will get a fair trial,” Booth said. “Whatever the law said will happen, will happen.”
Anthony A. Peacock, professor of political science, said, “I think the Bush administration has responded very well to what had occurred.”
Although Peacock said he thinks what Walker had done was “indespicable,” he said in a criminal case such as this, the evidence plays a very important role.
“What [Walker has] done is a very reprehensible act,” Peacock said.
Booth said, “We don’t put people to death based on emotion but on law.”
And to all the young people out there, Booth said there is a lesson to be learned from the Walker case.
“Be careful where you go and what you do,” he said.
Walker, who converted to Islam at the age of 16, is charged in a 10-count indictment with conspiring to kill Americans, providing support to terrorists and using firearms during crimes of violence.
The Walker case will go on trial Aug. 24.