Terry and Beverley Hicks scrutinise a grainy video intensely. They're hoping to catch a rare glimpse of their son, David, who has been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for over 15 months. Like the other detainees, he is being held in legal limbo: denied prisoner of war status and not charged with any crime. At Camp Delta, an American guard shows us around a small wire cage where inmates like David spend the majority of their time. It measures just 2.4 m by 2 m. Floodlights remain on 24 hours a day and prisoners are denied all access to the outside world. Even boys in their early teens are held in these conditions and 17 detainees have attempted suicide. America insists that only "the worst of the worst" are imprisoned at Camp Delta but this view is challenged by other governments. "Most of the people detained were cannon fodder," claims Pakistani Spokesman Asad Ahyauddin. "The White House's position is that there is no right of any court to determine the lawfulness of their detention," complains Joe Marguiles, lawyer for the detainees. "They can be held at the unfettered discretion of the United States military for as long as the military sees fit." America's willingness to discard long held convention have caused distrust and concern. How can the world trust a process it cannot see?

Produced by ABC Australia