The first thing that jumped out to me while watching “The Troubles” was the jurisdiction issue between the Federal Government and the New York State Government. Neither investigative body were able to get their way because each of their interests bumped up against each other throughout the episode. The problems arose because important federal prisoners were involved in a murder while in state custody. New York was concerned with bringing a murder to justice, while the Feds were concerned with protecting their national security interests. If the prisoners were not critical terrorist targets and/or informants, then the problematic cooperation may not have happened.
A second issue that jumped out to me was concerns about a fair trial and the rights of prisoners. In some cases, the terrorists were held indefinitely without charges or open access to legal council. America is supposed to be a nation of laws that values our Constitution and the 5th Amendment, but the treatment of the terrorists by Federal officials makes a mockery of legal procedure. Backroom deals were made, rights were violated, and justice was hardly served all under the vague guise of national security.
The final aspect that I noticed about this episode is that of justice. Succinctly put, was justice served? Neither the Feds nor the state of New York achieved all their goals concerning this case; that much was evident in the despaired looks on all the official’s faces in the episode’s closing scene. Given the scenario created by the episode I don’t think any ideal outcome was possible. Federal and State authorities had to choose between political expediency versus moral justice, as well as deciding the relative importance between national security and an ethical legal process. None of these are easy questions, but they nonetheless demand answers on a daily basis.
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