Light Gitmo sentences surprise some observers (AP) GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - The military tribunals held at this isolated U.S. outpost have been lambasted as kangaroo courts, heavily weighted in favor of the prosecution. But most of the convictions so far have led to lighter than expected sentences. Legal experts note, with some caveats, that all but one of the seven convictions at what are known as military commissions, including a plea bargain finalized Wednesday for a former Maryland man, have resulted in lower sentences than those routinely handed out in U.S. civilian courts for similar offenses. "There is no evidence, zero, none, zip, that the justice delivered in military commissions is harsher than the justice delivered in federal court," said Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow and terrorism specialist at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "And there is a fair bit of evidence, based admittedly on a very limited universe of military commissions cases to date, that the quality of justice is more lenient," said Wittes, one of the founders of the influential Lawfare blog. Some critics challenge the whole concept of the military trials and note that a majority of the 171 prisoners never will be charged with a crime, let alone face trial, despite the fact that most were captured more than a decade ago. First high-value gitmo detainee pleads guilty Video: The Gitmo files GOP report questions Gitmo detainee releases "The federal courts offer something the military commissions do not: true due process," said Zachary Katznelson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, who was observing the hearing this week at which Majid Khan, a graduate of a suburban Baltimore high school, pleaded guilty to plotting attacks with al Qaeda. The majority of the men are being held either because they are considered too dangerous to release or because the U.S. authorities say they cannot find an acceptable place to transfer them. About 80 percent of the inmates are now held in a communal camp where improved conditions, including access to classes and 24 satellite TV channels, have resulted in fewer assaults on guards and less tension, according to officials who led reporters on a tour of the prison this week.