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| Would-be millennium bomber sentenced to 22 years |
| 2005-07-27 |
| SEATTLE – A man who plotted to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years in prison, a penalty that reflected some of his cooperation in telling international investigators about the workings of terror camps in Afghanistan. Still, Ahmed Ressam, 38, could have received a shorter sentence had he not stopped talking to investigators in early 2003. Prosecutors argued that his recalcitrance has jeopardized cases against two of his co-conspirators. Ressam, 38, was arrested in Port Angeles in December 1999 as he drove off a ferry from British Columbia with a trunk full of bomb-making materials. After being convicted of terrorist conspiracy and explosives charges at his 2001 trial, Ressam began cooperating in hopes of winning a reduced sentence. Ressam told investigators from several countries about the operation of terror camps, but quit cooperating by early 2003. His lawyers said years of solitary confinement took their toll on his mental state, but prosecutors insisted he simply didn't feel like cooperating any more. Prosecutors recommended a 35-year sentence; Ressam's lawyers asked for 12Âœ years. Ressam had been scheduled for sentencing in April. After more than two hours of arguments, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour called it off, giving Ressam three more months to resume cooperation. Coughenour and federal prosecutors want Ressam to testify against his two co-conspirators, Samir Ait Mohamed and Abu Doha, who are awaiting extradition from Canada and Britain, respectively. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #9 Hugh Hewitt is fit to be tied over the short inappropriate sentence as well as the remarks that Judge Coughenour made prior to sentencing this villian. See the Hewitt link for the lecture. One would think this guy was a Carter appointee, but alas he's a Reagan judge. Hewitt:The arrogance of this renegade judge's lecture is simply beyond belief. Congress should summon the judge to testify as to his inane remarks, but precede and follow his appearnce with panels comprised of vitims of terror and the families of military killed in the war. |
| Posted by: GK 2005-07-27 23:22 |
| #8 This guy should be impeached. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-07-27 21:42 |
| #7 Dave D., exactly. Why can't we add on a bit to the Patriot Act providing that non-U.S. citizens (at least) arrested for terrorist activity be sent to Gitmo for (military) trial, incarceration and-uh-punishment? Treating terrorism as a domestic criminal matter will be even less successful than the way we prosecute and punish child molesters. |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2005-07-27 20:48 |
| #6 I would love to be on hand when this garbage gets out. What was the friggin judge thinking? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-07-27 20:43 |
| #5 Pointed out at CaptainsQuarters Blog that sentence includes time served and w/good behavior could be out in 13-14 yrs.(Altho they missed subtracting his 4+yrs served from good behavior time. He could be out in less than 9 yrs.) |
| Posted by: Stephen 2005-07-27 19:13 |
| #4 And he was driven to this by our illegal occupation of Iraq, right? |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-07-27 17:56 |
| #3 So this murderous parasite was arrested in December 1999, and it took over 5-1/2 years to try, convict and sentence him. Tell you what: compress that 2,000+ days of "due process" into no more than 12 hours, and then I'll consider the law-enforcement approach as a possibly viable tactic in the war against Islamic totalitarianism. But not until. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-07-27 15:22 |
| #2 No. Ressam was going to kill dozens of people at LAX. Justice would have meant he be skewered and slow roasted. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-07-27 14:39 |
| #1 For not cooperating, he should have gotten the max. This judge should be recalled. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2005-07-27 14:33 |