I'm sorry, I seem to be missing something here.
Why would it be okay to take someone's life when the only crime they have committed is withholding information?
In fact, I have on idea why life in solitary confinement is seen as an appropriate response either.
Gaol can be seen to be used in one of a number of ways: a deterrent, a punishment, or an avenue for rehabilitation
Lets think about this:
Deterrent: If this man wanted to a martyr, then he's willing to give his life to his cause (assuming he was to be directly involved), and that doesn't necessarily mean dying. Lifetime in prison makes one just as effectively a firebrand for a cause. Hardly a deterrent.
Rehabilitation: We can just chuck this one right out, I'm pretty sure no one's going to try and teach this man to better himself, and chose a life outside of crime.
Punishment: Ah, here's the rub. It's punishment, that we're looking at. So, he's being punished by spending his life shut in a tiny box with essentially no outside contact for the rest of his days. For withholding information, possibly being part of a plot (but no one is really sure) and apparently being a raving nutcase during his trial.
Can anyone else say Kangaroo court? It seems as though both sides were utterly batshit in this trial.
Bravo America. Bravo.
I am actually entirely surprised that he wasn't executed.
On a vaguely related point, why the fuck hasn't the USA ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child? Jesus, all it does is grant children basic fucking rights! Let's see what GWB's response is:
George W. Bush wrote:
"The Convention on the Rights of the Child may be a positive tool for promoting child welfare for those countries that have adopted it. But we believe the text goes too far when it asserts entitlements based on economic, social and cultural rights. ... The human rights-based approach ... poses significant problems as used in this text."
The real reason? The USA wanted to execute 16 year olds. Seriously, why did it take until last year for something like Roper v. Simmons to occur? Prior to that, anyone over 16 could be executed. And it wasn't until 2002 that the Supreme Court stated that a mentally retarded adult couldn't be executed. Congratulations, even fucking Bosnia does better than you.