A reality check from the New York University Center on Law and Security on the success of civilian trials in prosecuting suspected terrorists. The overall conviction rate is 86.9 percent:
Yeah, you read that right. Exactly 1 percent of terrorism-related cases end in acquittal. That's so low as to be genuinely disconcerting. Except for conservatives, who presumably think that number is far too high and proves we should be using military commissions.
