Chuckie Taylor - son of Charles Taylor- on Trial in Miami

The son of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor (Roy Belfast Jr.) is facing trial in the U.S. for alleged human rights violations in the west African nation. The charges against Chuckie Taylor include using cigarettes and an iron to burn victims, giving electric shocks and beating victims with firearms. The alleged crimes took place while the U.S.-born Taylor was in charge of a security force blamed for intimidating and silencing opponents of his father's administration. Chuckie Taylor faces up to 47 years in jail if found guilty on all counts.

The case relies on a 1994 U.S. anti-torture law that allows for suspects to be charged for crimes anywhere in the world. The US federal extraterritorial torture statute, 18 USC § 2340A, makes it a crime for US citizens or anyone present in the United States, regardless of whether they are a US citizen, to commit torture abroad, or to attempt or conspire to commit torture abroad. The law applies regardless of the nationality of the victim. Penalties can be a fine and/or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or if the victim dies as a result of the torture, imprisonment for a term of years, life imprisonment, or death. The statute has never been used before.

The extraterritorial torture statute, which has been unique in its jurisdictional reach, was passed in 1994 to implement US obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In 2007, however, federal law with regard to genocide was amended to enable the government to bring charges against any person in the United States no matter where the genocide took place. A law criminalizing the recruitment of child soldiers in similar circumstances also has been proposed and has received support, although it has not yet been passed.