Darrel Vandeveld, J.D., of Erie, made headlines around the world when he asked to resign his post as prosecuting attorney at Guantanamo due to ethical concerns.
On March 19 at 7PM Mr. Vandeveld will speak at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie about his experiences at Guantanamo.
The event is sponsored by the Erie Peace Initiative.
Ex-prosecutor: Guantanamo 'a total failure'
by Lisa Thompson/Erie Times-News Feb. 4, 2009
Former military prosecutor Darrel J. Vandeveld arrived at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects as a self-described "true believer," ready to seek the ultimate punishment for those who had attacked the U.S. and what it stands for.
What he found there instead was a "facade of justice" that constituted its own kind of attack on the United States and its founding principles of justice, Vandeveld, of Millcreek Township, said.
"Guantanamo has been a total failure," he told a standing-room-only audience in the Heritage Room at Mercyhurst College on Tuesday night.
Complete article here: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/NEWS02/302039904
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BBC News video: Guantanomo Lawyer Tells Why He Quit
BBC News 2 December 2008
A former US military prosecutor who resigned from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has given his first interview to the BBC. Devout Catholic Darrel Vandeveld tells security correspondent Gordon Corera how he came to question the fairness of the legal process at the military base.
Click here for video http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7760927.stm
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Link to an LA Times article http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/12/nation/na-gitmo12
And an Erie Times-News article, dated September 27, 2009 http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/NEWS02/309279927