The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #92621 Message #1773953
Posted By: GUEST
02-Jul-06 - 06:24 AM
Thread Name: The Wisdom of Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens
Subject: RE: The Wisdom of Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens
But "testing the dispute in court" would be tantamount to putting a man on trial for his life. That means that the capital punishment issue itself would have to be reopened. Then they would have to decide which crimes warranted it. How far down the list after premeditated murder does exercising your right to free speech come? They'd have to revise the publishing and censorship laws too, and it could only result in works being banned. In other words, intellectual and cultural impoverishment.
If there were a court case and the verdict went in favour of the accused, things would be pretty much as they did happen: Grumbling, protest, discontent. But if he lost this precedent-setting case? It's unthinkable.