Boston Bombing aftermath, any similarity to the Lincoln assassination aftermath?

[Ed Steers]

Briefly, the Supreme Court ruled in 1942 in the ex parte Quirin case that American citizens can be tried by military tribunal. Citizenship did not protect one from military tribunals. The new statute precludes this, however. The new statute codifies military tribunals and removes the sole authority of the president to decide who will be tried by military tribunal (not true during Bush administration). As I see it, the two accused are no different than Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, both tried in civil court. I see no advantage under the modern statute to using a military tribunal. There are approximately 300 individuals convicted of "terrorism" who were tried in civil courts and are serving sentences in Federal prisons in the U.S. It would appear the system does work.