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| Judge and Shoe-Bomb Fruitcake Enjoy Frank Exchange of Views |
| 2003-01-31 |
| In a dramatic climax to the two-hour proceeding, Reid was muscled out of the courtroom in handcuffs by four federal marshals after shouting at U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young. Young had concluded the sentencing with a stern defense of his decision to put Reid behind bars for life. Prison should be an educational and broadening experience for Mr. Reid. They'll probably have to toss him into a supermax just to keep him alive. "We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before," the judge said. "You are not an enemy combatant -- you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war -- you are a terrorist." Who is this judge? And how do we promote him? Young asked Reid to take note of an American flag above their heads, saying it would fly for many years to come. Then, ordering a marshal to take Reid away, the judge said, "Custody, Mr. Officer. Stand him down." According to Fox News, the judge's words were: "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten." Reid, partially shaven with straggly hair falling to his shoulders and a goatee, stood up immediately to his full, imposing height of 6-foot-4 and pointed at the judge. Several of the crew members and passengers who were on the flight looked stunned, glancing at each other and shaking their heads. One woman cried. "That flag will be brought down on the day of judgment and you will see in front of your Lord and my Lord and then we will know," Reid said, in a heavily accented, rapid-fire cadence. "You will be judged by Allah." I'm not a religious man, but it seems to me that on Judgement Day the Lord will be concerned with matters other than national flags. |
| Posted by:Patrick Phillips |
| #7 Parts of it read like the Gettysburg Address...this judge thought long and hard about his speech and I wish the transcript would get a larger distribution in the mass media...or at least an Instapundit link. |
| Posted by: seafarious 2003-01-31 21:54:50 |
| #6 Thanks Patrick. It was a good read. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-01-31 20:44:20 |
| #5 I just found the full transcript the exchange between Reid and Judge Young. It's here and it's worth reading. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-01-31 13:32:27 |
| #4 I he had any brains he would have lit his shoe off in the bathroom. People would have assumed he was a smoker trying to defeat the smoke detectors. Does the exact placement of the bomb matter over the middle of the Atlantic? Once you shred the fuselage its over. This guy really was stupid. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-01-31 13:01:44 |
| #3 Prison should be an educational and broadening experience for Mr Reid. Yes, I do imagine that he'll quickly become someones broad while in prison :-) |
| Posted by: Vicarious 2003-01-31 12:48:55 |
| #2 Yeah, Super Terrorist...Christ, he can't even light a friggin' match! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-01-31 12:44:52 |
| #1 This guy was just a loser that the biggies recruited. "Oh, hell, maybe he can pull it off" sort of thing. And he managed to screw it up. Reid is not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. In fact, he's the one at the bottom, dangling, after you ran out of branches, that the dog chews on or the cat batts at. Prison will be the best living conditions he's had in a very long while. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-01-31 07:43:41 |