A recent Gallup/USA Today poll indicates a lot of animus toward John Walker Lindh.
While 60% disagree with the DoJ decision not to charge him with treason (thus indicating a lack of understanding of the law), what I found most interesting was the breakdown in demographics.
Of those over 50, 52% thought treason charges should be filed. In contrast, in the 18-to-29 cohort — where Lindh falls — 70% thought he should be charged with treason.
It seems the “youthful mistakes” excuse is playing more strongly for the old than the young. (Though that 50+ cohort would have been teens in the late 60s, perhaps giving them a bit more sympathy for young folks adopting radical and sometimes stupid positions.)
Also interesting — women favored the treason charge more than the men; only 28% agreed with the DoJ’s charges, vs. 38% of men.
Legal analysts say the results provide a glimpse of the peril Lindh could face if he opts to go to trial before a jury of his peers.
”If I were the defense attorney, I would be reading these results and weeping,” says Michael Noone, a Catholic University law professor. ”This shows that there is a real incentive on the defense’s part to either go to trial before a judge alone, or to negotiate a plea.”
(Via OpinionJournal)
Going back to your point on the lack of understanding of the law. Is it possible that the statistics reflect a general decline in the understanding of civics and the law in today’s youth?
It would certainly seem in line with the decline in skills in all the other subject areas of academia beyond “I have good self esteem.” (To me, that’s just like saying, “I suck. I don’t know that I suck, but I feel good about it.” Ignorance is bliss.)
I don’t know that the legal issues around treason are that much better understood among 50-year-olds than 20-year-olds. That’s a category of law most people don’t know in much detail, if any.