Sentence of Reid
 

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?


Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?

Didn't think so.


Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he
had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stating, "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young:

"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for eac h of th e eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you thin k you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

Yep, never heard this. Nice.

But I am not surprised, because it isn't dramatic enough for the current rating hunger bastard media. They don't care about justice or anything else. Not even the full facts. Just ratings and money. [sm=headbang.gif]

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

The guy should be teaching law, I think alot of lawyers and judges across the the USA & Canada could learn alot from Judge Young.

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

Thanks for that news clip. I have not read it or heard it before today. Amen to those words and may they echo for long,long time.

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

Here's what we ran on this story. I pulled this from our electronic files. I think it hits the high points fairly well:

San Antonio Express-News


Would-be shoe bomber dragged off to serve life sentence ; Judge scoffs at soldier claim


by Denise Lavoie
ASSOCIATED PRESS
01/31/2003
FRIDAY
A Section
03A



BOSTON - Richard Reid, the al-Qaida follower who tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday by a judge who warned him: "We are not afraid ... We are Americans. We have been through the fire before."

The 29-year-old British citizen cried, "You will be judged by Allah!" before being dragged from the courtroom in handcuffs.

Reid received the maximum sentence after declaring himself a soldier and denouncing U.S. foreign policy toward Islamic countries.

"Your government has sponsored the torture of Muslims in Iraq, and Turkey, and Jordan and Syria with their money and weapons," said Reid, who converted to Islam eight years ago.

U.S. District Judge William Young would have none of it.

"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," the judge said. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.

"You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."

At that, the judge pointed to the U.S. flag behind him and said: "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 had faced 60 years to life for trying to blow up an American Airlines flight bound from Paris to Miami just three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Prosecutors said Reid had enough plastic explosives in his shoes to blow a hole in the fuselage and kill all 197 people aboard.

Passengers and crew members overpowered Reid, using seat belts and their own belts to strap him to his seat. Two doctors aboard the flight injected him with sedatives and the jet was diverted to Boston.

Federal prosecutor Gerard Leone Jr. told the judge that in Reid's mind, "the religion of Islam justifies the killing of innocent civilians. In his mind, the ... attacks of Sept. 11 were but a missed opportunity."

As Reid sought to justify his actions, several crew members who were on the flight looked stunned, glancing at each other in the courtroom and shaking their heads. One woman wept.

In Washington, Attorney General John Ashcroft praised the sentence and said the passengers and crew who averted a disaster were heroes.

"The sentence imposed on Richard Reid says to the world that terrorists cannot escape American justice," Ashcroft said. "We will hunt them down, stop them and we will put them away."

When Reid pleaded guilty last October, he said he was a member of al-Qaida, pledged his support to Osama bin Laden and declared himself an enemy of the United States.

Prosecutors and the FBI said that witnesses reported Reid was present at al-Qaida training camps, and that Reid had help making the bomb from an al-Qaida bomb maker.

Defense attorneys said Reid credits his religion with saving him from a life of drug use and despair. They described a troubled childhood and young adulthood, when Reid was plagued by poverty, racism and crime.

In arguing for a life sentence, prosecutors this month submitted a videotaped simulation of what Reid might have accomplished, showing a fiery explosion causing severe damage to a wide-body jet.

Reid tried furiously to light a match to his shoes but he was unable to ignite the fuse.

Authorities have speculated the shoes were moist from sweat.

Reid pleaded guilty to eight charges, including attempte

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

Thanks for posting this. It should have been run on all major media outlets...very, very powerful.

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

Thatjudge is awsome he is my hero!!!!

RE: Sentence of Reid
 

he got off easy, think of what Judge Judy would have done to him.