We hope the Tripoli 6 are out of Tripoli, Libya, soon. Libyan courts commuted the death sentences delivered to the six health workers, but the commutation was to life sentences; late news indicates that Libya has agreed to extradite the six to Bulgaria in return for payments to the families of the 400+ children who were victimized by the hospital screw-ups for which the six are erroneously blamed.
Libya claims to have confessions from the health workers. Evidence suggests they were tortured to sign hoax confessions.
For rational people who care for justice, there is a powerful moral here. Forensic evidence shows that the HIV viruses that infected hundreds of children at a hospital, infected the children and evolved well before the five nurses and one doctor got to the hospital. In short, it is physically impossible in time for the accused workers to have been responsible for the infections. They are innocent.
But of course, this evidence is based on evolutionary paradigms, the same way that all DNA evidence is. The Libyan courts waved the evidence off, essentially, convicting the workers in a second trial after a team of international scientists completed a special research project showing, with the highest degree of assurance, the impossibility of liability to the accused.
Creationism is relativism with King James language: Facts are not facts, science is not science, what is true in the laboratory and in the wild, not true in a creationist court. The Libyan courts dismissed what would have been exonerating evidence in U.S. and most European courts.
And so another international team was assembled to raise the extortion demanded by Libya, and a settlement negotiated. U.S. scientists contributed time and expertise; the U.S. government appears to have deferred to European governments.
Sadly, the people who created the conditions for infecting 400 kids with HIV will go unpunished in this creationist court.
Effect Measure over at the Seed stable of science blogs has a much more complete explanation of the case, with links detailing the heroic work of scientists, and I encourage you to read that account and follow the links.
Justice, justice shalt thou pursue.
– Deuteronomy 16:20
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 