Citizens of the United States expect that they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The federal government, however, does not seem to believe that this right should be extended to citizens of other countries. Instead, the government has chosen to hold prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility indefinitely without fair trials that will determine whether they are guilty.

Obviously, this prison exists off of American soil because it does not want to conform to US law. Tell President Obama that the United States has a responsibility to uphold our ethical stance on human rights regardless of where suspects are from and where they are held.

Give these men a fair trial to determine whether they are guilty and shut down Guantanamo already.

President Obama,

During your presidential campaign, you made promises that, to some, seemed too good to be true. It’s disappointing to see that these pessimists were right on many accounts.

Guantanamo Bay is one of the most obvious contradictions between your campaign and your presidency. During your campaign, you spoke out against this facility for violating human rights. Now, however, you are nearing the end of your term and nothing has changed in Guantanamo Bay.

Every US citizen expects that he or she is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Why is it that we do not extend this right to all people? Instead of prosecuting these foreign civilians, our country has locked them away indefinitely without trials. This is the type of human rights violation that one would expect from China, not the United States.

If the men held at Guantanamo are guilty of terrorist actions, then prosecute them in court and determine an adequate punishment. Then, shut down Guantanamo already. This facility only exists so that members of the government can leave US soil and commit human rights violations without breaking the law in the America. It’s an underhanded, and entirely obvious, trick that violates the rights of detainees and American citizens.

Thank you,

Amy Carver