January 22, 2008
Judge Gives Padilla 17 Years
Jose Padilla, the onetime accused dirty-bomber whom the U.S. government tried to prosecute for five years in an untested legal maze, has been sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison for aiding terrorists abroad.
The charges on which Padilla was convicted last summer are a far cry from the initial accusations against the 37-year-old American citizen. When he was picked up in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the Justice Department accused him of plotting to detonate radioactive, or dirty, bombs in the U.S.
Those charges eventually fell apart, as a tug-of-war between the Bush administration and the legal system ensued. The federal judge presiding over the case, Marcia Cooke, beat back government attempts to withhold evidence or testimony against Padilla. Eventually, the more serious allegations against him were dropped, and he was convicted last year, alongside two co-defendants, of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas and providing material support for terrorism.
The Gate reviewed Padilla's topsy-turvy case history when he was convicted last August and when his trial began in May. The Miami Herald has more on Padilla's sentencing here.
Posted at 12:55 PM
Posted to:
Bush Administration, Detainees, Jose Padilla, Terrorism
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