James Benjamin Quoted on Terrorism Prosecutions by Federal Courts
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Akin Gump partner James Benjamin was quoted for the story “Majority of Convicted Terrorists in U.S. Are American Citizens” by news site The Daily Beast.
A recent report reveals that more than half of the 171 individuals convicted by American courts or military commissions for crimes on behalf of, or inspired by, al Qaeda are U.S. citizens. Commenting on the data for this report, which was culled from U.S. federal court documents, Benjamin, said, “As shown by many years of real-world experience, our federal courts are fully capable of handling terrorism prosecutions. Compiling statistics requires judgment calls, but we can all learn a great deal from the extensive factual record of successful terrorism cases in our courts during the past 15 years.”
Prior to joining Akin Gump, Benjamin served for more than five years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In 2008, he published, with Human Rights First, the report “In Pursuit of Justice: Prosecuting Terrorism Cases in the Federal Courts" (2009 update available here).
