Republican senator from South Carolina suggests novel idea for how to handle Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he's apprehended

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has a novel idea for how to handle Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he's apprehended.

Most people take the supreme court decision in Miranda v Arizona (1966) to be the final word on whether arrestees must be informed of their right to an attorney and to remain silent. They must, the justices decided.

Graham seems to have little time for a mere Supreme Court decision backed by 47 years of law enforcement precedent.

The last thing we may want to do is read Boston suspect Miranda Rights telling him to "remain silent." — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013

Graham also thinks that in this case the Obama administration should just punt the whole habeas corpus thing, saying in a tweet that Tsaraev should be "held as an enemy combatant." This of course before any motive has been established.

If captured, I hope Administration will at least consider holding the Boston suspect as enemy combatant for intelligence gathering purposes. — Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) April 19, 2013

Lindsey Graham is currently runnning for re-election, and new numbers released this week "suggest Graham's approval rating in GOP circles has dropped significantly."

Graham isn't the only Republican senator to have expressed original views on the situation unfolding in Boston. Friday morning Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley told an immigration hearing, 'It's hard to understand that there are people in the world who want to do Americans harm," the Guardian's Dan Roberts reported.

Grassley continued: