Letter to the Editor: Response to "The Fear Factory"

I read your article "The Fear Factory" with great interest. We at the Center on Law and Security believe that it?s essential for the public to be aware of the government?s successes and failures - and overall legal strategy - in the war on terror. Mr. Lawson aptly illustrates that many of the people who have been prosecuted in connection with domestic terror plots are neither experienced nor professional terrorists. There is one detail from our Terrorism Trial Report Card that we would like to clarify. The article mentions that 10 percent of the cases in our Terrorist Trial Report Card have resulted in convictions. It?s important to note, however, that 73% of the defendants charged with terrorism have been convicted of terrorism or other crimes if you exclude pending cases. This is still a low number when you consider that the overall federal felony conviction rate is 92.2%. More details, including an update for January 2008, are available at www.lawandsecurity.org. Karen J. Greenberg Executive Director, Center on Law and Security, NYU School of Law