Timothy Lavin , Columnist

Misguided Murder Inquiry May Unravel Irish Peace

Adams's arrest has brought a simmering failure of the peace process to a boil: The two sides have never found a plausible way to deal with crimes committed during the conflict.

May 2, 2014 at 10:05 PM UTC

By Timothy Lavin

Timothy Lavin is a member of the editorial board covering technology and politics. Previously, he was a senior editor at the Atlantic.

Whether he was a freedom fighter or a terrorist, now he's a detainee. Photographer: Kimberly White/Getty Images — Whether he was a freedom fighter or a terrorist, now he's a detainee. Photographer: Kimberly White/Getty Images

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Gerry Adams -- member of parliament, president of Sinn Fein, famed shaker of presidential hands and processor of peace -- has been in jail since Wednesday.

Not for the first time, of course. But for a 65-year-old who had left the revolutionary life behind for one of workaday politicking and amiable tweeting, surely an unexpected twist in life's journey.