Senators Reach Compromise on Guantanamo Detainees

On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of Senators reached a compromise late Monday night on the rights of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Under the deal - worked out by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Carl Levin - detainees convicted by military tribunals can have their cases reviewed by federal courts.

The agreement was reached four days after the Senate agreed to strip detainees of their right to challenge their detention in federal courts, overturning a June 2004 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right to habeas corpus.

The compromise reached would also grant any detainee sentenced to death or at least 10 years of prison by a military trial an automatic appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In addition, the deal restores federal court jurisdiction over pending cases and provides for a court review of whether standards and procedures of the tribunals are consistent with the Constitution.