U.S. court tosses sentence for millennium bomb plotter

[JBoy]

Source: Globe and Mail

A federal appeals court says a 22-year prison sentence is too lenient for an al-Qaeda-trained terrorist convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport at the turn of the millennium.

A divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the sentence Tuesday. It also removed the Seattle trial judge from the case and assigned the re-sentencing of Ahmed Ressam to another judge.

Border agents in Washington state arrested Mr. Ressam in December 1999 after he entered the United States from Canada on a ferry with a car packed with explosives.

A judge cited Mr. Ressam’s co-operation with investigators in meting out the original sentence. But since Mr. Ressam recanted his co-operation after two years, the appeals court says he deserves a longer sentence.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-court-tosses-sentence-for-millennium-bomb-plotter/article1453537/

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But, but,

I thought civilian courts were only interested in protecting terrorists!

[Deep13]

1. Hmmm. I foresee the goofy 9th getting smacked down again.

U.S. v. Booker makes the Fed. Sentencing Guidelines discretionary.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. Don't see why - if the lighter sentence was predicated on the perp's

cooperation, and the court mentioned that in the sentencing, then his withholding of that cooperation would logically cause the sentence to be extended to fit the original request, probably 25-life.

You can't cut a deal and expect the state to stand by its side if you don't hold up your end.

[Deep13]

3. A deal with the govt. does not bind the sentencing court.

The most the state or the Feds. can do is promise to recommend a sentence. The court usually accepts a joint recommendation, but it is not required to do so. It may be that the Fed. judge thought that other factors argued for lieniency (if 22 years can be called lienient).

Anyway, I haven't read the decision so we will just have to see would the Roberts bunch rules on it.