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, 4and 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 each of the 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 think
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 thatplane 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 I
know.
It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our
freedom.
Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come
and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.Here,
in this society, the very wind carries freedom.It carries it everywhere from
sea to shining sea..It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you
are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that
justice is administered fairly,individually, and discretely.
It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your
behalf, have
filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.
We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat
you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though.
It is yet true that
we will bear any burden;pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.Look around
this courtroom. Mark it well.
The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after
tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in
this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will
gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual
justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States
through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on
which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit
and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense
of justice.
See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of
America .That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag
stands for freedom. And it always
will.
Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.
So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more
judges like Judge Young. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear
what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.
When in our country the judgement will be so quick and every criminal be
punished soon without much media and politics
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