What's in a Warning?

Should he ever regain consciousness, alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev will face extensive questioning from law-enforcement.  He may or may not receive a Miranda warning before this questioning ("You have the right to remain silent. . . ." yadda yadda yadda),  Authorities may skip the warning in exigent circumstances where aggressive questioning could possibly ward off imminent threats.  But considering the fact that a week has passed since the Marathon bombings, as well as the fact that Tsarnaev will likely remain unconscious for a while yet, I fail to see how a case for "exigent circumstances" can be made.  More to the point, though, I wonder what it would mean for the authorities not to Mirandize the suspect.

The Miranda warning arose in response to a Supreme Court decision where a prisoner's confession (Miranda's confession, coincidentally enough) was disallowed (and his case ultimately dismissed) because police failed to warn him of his constitutional right to remain silent.  In Tsarnaev's case, though, prosecutors are willing to take the chance that they will not be able to use any confession he might give, as they feel they have enough eyewitness and forensic evidence to mount a successful prosecution even without it.

In a sense, the standard Miranda warning is largely superfluous for anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in the United States.  Anyone who has seen an episode of "Law and Order" can recite the whole thing by heart.  As an American citizen and someone who went to Dartmouth (although he didn't do so great in chemistry), Tsarnaev is presumably knowledgeable of his constitutional rights, warning or no.  But does the fact that authorities don't have to Mirandize Tsarnaev mean that Tsarnaev has no right to remain silent?  And if that's the case. . .well then what?  Are we headed for Abu Ghraib in the Bay State?

All in the Timing

Everyone is a near miss.  Some nearer than others.

"As Melissa Fryback, 42, was heading into the home stretch, she realized she was on pace for one of her best times ever. She steeled herself for the last three miles and finished in 3 hours 44 minutes. She met up with her boyfriend, and the two had made it about two blocks from the finish line when they heard the blasts. . . .

“'I can’t help but wonder that if I hadn’t pushed like that, it could have been me,' she said."

"War Zone at Mile 26: ‘So Many People Without Legs’"

Comments from just two of the 25,000 or so people who took part in yesterday's Boston Marathon. 

FORTUNE
Runner 18493 can't believe it.  Of all the days to run her personal best!  The Marathon! In 3:44!  And then, what happened at the end.  She can't believe it.  If she had run her normal pace. . . . She can scarcely bear to think about it.  Fortune.  But not just fortune, really, when you think about it.  She earned it.  She ran her best time.  This was not dumb luck.  This was virtue rewarded: a gift from the Gods in recognition of her hard work.  Of course, she would never say this publicly, such sentiments being inappropriate in light of. . . everything.  But still, if she does--privately--view her unscathed escape as some karmic blessing. . . well certainly no one ould blame her?

IRONY
Runner 21006 can't believe it.  Of all the days to run her personal best.  The Marathon!  Sure, she started way back in the pack, but here she is, approaching the finish in three hours and forty-four minutes!  All her training, all her hard work, rewarded.  She can see the finish line up ahead, hear the cheers of the crowd.  She smiles and glances at her watch: 2:50. Not bad.