Audio By Carbonatix
Illustration via Rolling Stone
Miami’s chapter in the implausible saga of Charles “Chuckie” Taylor Jr. will soon come to a sordid end.
Lawyers for Taylor and the prosecutors are scheduled to begin closing arguments today in a case that’s drawn international interest for its horrifying accusations and its legal implications.
In a few short years, Taylor went from suburban Orlando teenager to leader of his father Liberian dictator Charles Taylor’s elite security team known as the “Demon Forces.” As the name might imply, Chuckie’s team was allegedly fond of raping, torturing, and slicing off genitals.
When news happens, Miami New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If Miami New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
The case is also a first test of a 1994 U.S. law aimed at prosecuting Americans who engage in torture abroad. Given our own misadventures with torture under the Bushies, this whole case has the whiff of a political referendum on just how much damage that lame duck administration has done to our international moral standing.
We may soon have an answer.
