Blow up an embassy, get only 20 years.

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Obama's plan to try KSM in civilian court may be done - The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency

Looks like Obama's plan to have foreign terrorists who carried out foreign attacks on the US in foreign lands tried in civilian courts with civilian jururs according to US laws is disappointing, to say the least.

Use the right tool for the job. Yes, you can use a shoe to hammer in one nail, but if you need to hammer in several you have to add a bit of weight and a steel plate to it, which then simply makes it ill-fitting for its original use.

Not only that, but even though he's only receive a 20 year sentence, they are indicating that he'll remain in military detention for life anyway. So not only did the experiment fail, but they aren't even going to stand by their own rules - in essence they pre-convicted him (and note that they chose a terrorist which was as easily prosecuted as they could find), went through a farce of a civilian trial, then gave him the punishment they believed he already deserved.

If you're going to take a stand on "principle" it really weakens your position if you don't maintain your own convictions.

Of course, this doesn't even get into the "what are we telling our enemies" message.
 

Dave

Staff member
He hasn't been sentenced yet. He gets a MINIMUM of 20 years with no chance of parole. Maximum? Life. And that has nothing to do with the military detention.

So the article and grandstanding are a bit premature.
 
Isn't it 20 to life?! That's how it is in all the shows.

But hey, who wants to send the message that you'll be treated like any other criminal that kills people... making martyrs is just so much more fun.
 
He hasn't been sentenced yet. He gets a MINIMUM of 20 years with no chance of parole. Maximum? Life. And that has nothing to do with the military detention.

So the article and grandstanding are a bit premature.
Agreed. We'll see how sentencing goes.

I do think that the acquittal on everything else is annoying, but considering how much evidence was thrown out because of how it was obtained, the outcome could have been much worse.
 
Isn't it 20 to life?! That's how it is in all the shows.
Probably cut due to pacing concerns. Much better for the prosecutor and defense to fire back various charges and then agree on a range than for them to agree to charges and then have to work out the exact number of years they would have to serve. Or other times it's because the judge hasn't ruled on sentencing yet.

But no 20 to life is the range of possible sentances that can be handed down by the judge no less than 20 years and no more than the rest of his life in prison. A judge will decide on the exact time to be served during the sentencing phase of the trial.
 
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