Truscott gets $6.5M
Who is Stephen Truscott? He is a Canadian man who spent more than a decade in prison for a murder he did not commit. He has been a convicted murderer since he was just 14 years old. And now, because he was wrongfully convicted, his payout will be $6.5 Million.
Who is Maher Arar? He is a Canadian citizen of Syrian descent. He still hold Syrian citizenship. He was suspected of terrorist involvement, extradited to the U.S., who in turn sent him back to Syria. He claims he was tortured there. His payout was $10 Million. There are still suspicions regarding his ties to terrorism.
Fair?
I never understood why it is the Canadian taxpayer that has to pay when a Syrian gets tortured by other Syrians. Shouldn’t he file suit in maybe, um, Syria?
Comment by BillyHW — July 7, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
“Fair?”
Hardly. But it is a craven political move and it is craven politics which motivate governments these days…it you thought they ever operated on ethics, principle and morality I have some mountain timeshare condos for you in Florida.
Comment by WL Mackenzie Redux — July 7, 2008 @ 7:28 pm
$10 mil??? Goddamn. How can I get myself tortured in Syria???
Comment by Alex — July 7, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
You make a good comparison, and a good point, but I don’t think there are any valid “suspicions” about his ties to terrorism.
Comment by Raphael Alexander — July 7, 2008 @ 10:48 pm
We presume Truscott wasn’t tortured.
Also, $10 million is far from fair compensation for the kind of torture they inflict in Syria. I’d suggest “not being tortured in the first place” is preferable. Too bad we can’t offer that as compensation.
Comment by Patrick Ross — July 9, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
Invasion and regime change is fair compensation for the kind of torture they inflict in Syria.
Comment by BillyHW — July 9, 2008 @ 4:59 pm