Melvin Watt: “the language is simple. It says, point blank, this is the only place you will find these words in the Constitution…”

“the language is simple. It says, point blank, this is the only place you will find these words in the Constitution, there being no other reference to habeas corpus in the entire Constitution, and listen, let them resonate in this body, if they will, if anybody will listen to them. This is the Constitution of the United States that we are talking about. It simply says the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in the cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. There is no rebellion or invasion. There may be a bunch of crime in the streets, but I ``ain't'' seen a rebellion and no invasion. And here we are, undermining the writ, and I say to my colleagues, ``Mind you, it doesn't say we can suspend it if we find probable cause. That's not here. That's what the language of the bill says, but that's not here in the Constitution. Nothing about probable cause. Probable cause is what we were arguing about in the last assault on the Constitution just a couple of hours ago that these conservative Members would have us do away with.'' Well, what does my amendment do? It says, ``At least, if somebody comes forward with credible evidence of innocence, at least they ought to be guaranteed the protections that our Constitution provides to us.''”