ACS USF Speaker: Dennis Edney

OK, So, I'm a little late on posting this (who can blame me, I ventured off to Clark County, NV for the weekend)... but the USF chapter of the American Constitution Society hosted a speaker on Wednesday, September 10.  ACS USF hosted defense attorney, Dennis Edney.  Mr. Edney is an attorney for one of the youngest Guantanamo Bay detention camp detainees, Omar Khadr.  Mr. Khadr was captured when he was 15 years old and has been held at Gitmo, without trial, for 7 years.  He is, finally, going to trial this October, where Mr. Edney will mount his defense.

As to the event, it was the first event hosted by ACS USF- and it was wildly successful.  Over 100 people showed up (110 by my count), including students and faculty.  Mr. Edney spoke for a little bit over an hour and fielded questions afterwards.  We were stopped only by the fact that a legal writing class started flowing in.  In addition to speaking on his experiences with Mr. Khadr and his personal experiences visiting Guantanamo Bay, Mr. Edney main message was clear: anyone can do what he [Mr. Edney] does.  That is, anyone can fight for justice.  Indeed, by many accounts, Mr. Khadr is being subject to terrible physical and mental abuses at Guantanamo Bay.  The least of which include the violation of fundamental legal rights.  Mr. Edney has taken on this case pro-bono because he feels it is the right thing to do.  He believes that, indeed, while Mr. Khadr should be held accountable for any actions that can be proved, the American government should equally be held accountable for its actions in treating detainees.  

If you missed the talk, we're working on getting a video to post.  It's a talk well worth viewing.  Until then, here are some (mlidly decent) pictures I took of the event.  Enjoy