A Grab Bag Of Reasons to Read Tsarnaev His Miranda Rights

by evanmcmurry

Adam Serwer with two good points on reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights:

Tsarnaev’s interrogators didn’t read him his rights. Nor did the “Obama administration,” as some, including Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), have claimed. A judge did it.

Cuz it’s, you know, the law. And two:

The feds have every reason to play this one by the book. Few things could compound the tragedy of Boston like jeopardizing Tsarnaev’s prosecution because of a rush to trample his constitutional rights.

I’ll add that hostility toward Miranda rights didn’t begin with Boston or terrorism. There’s a common notion that criminals don’t deserve rights, and that the Miranda text is some liberal limpwristery. Or, to quote Chief Wiggum, “You have the right to remain blah blah blah.”