Prosecutors to appeal Ressam sentence

KONP radio's website ^ | August 26, 2005 | KONP radio's website

[Don W]

Prosecutors to appeal Ressam sentence August 26th, 2005 - 12:29pm

(Seattle) -- Federal prosecutors say they will appeal the 22-year prison sentence of Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian national arrested in Port Angeles in 1999 and convicted of plotting to bomb LAX. The sentence handed down last month was significantly lower than the 35 years prosecutors had recommended, but could have been shorter still had Ressam agreed to testify against two of his alleged co-conspirators. In a statement today announcing his plans to appeal, U.S. Attorney John McKay says the standard sentencing range for the crimes Ressam committed is 65 years to life. McKay says Ressam plotted to kill hundreds of innocent Americans and his powerful explosives put lives at risk on the MV Coho and in Port Angeles. He says Ressam's actions warrant a sentence above 22 years and that the district judge erred in imposing the sentence. With credit for time served and three years off for good behavior, Ressam could be out of prison in 14 years. He likely would then be deported or sent to France, where he has been convicted in absentia of terror-related crimes. Ressam was arrested December 14th, 1999, as he tried to enter the United States at the Coho ferry terminal in Port Angeles with explosive materials in the trunk of his rental car. He was convicted of nine counts of terrorism-related charges in the spring of 2001.

[Don W]

I hope this is acceptable to the all-powerful admin/sidebar mods!

[HiTech RedNeck]

He likely would then be deported or sent to France, where he has been convicted in absentia of terror-related crimes.

Ho-kay, so what's the sentence he would serve in France following this?

[Ingtar]

An Atta-boy and pat on the back by the French?

[Don W]

I have no idea what his sentence in cheeze-eating-surrender-monkey-land would be.

I DO know that this POS drove past MY house, and imperilled a ferryboat (and its passengers and crew) that I use fairly regularly.

I also noticed that the judge gave this terrorist LESS than the minimum sentence, even though he refused to cooperate.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

If you need to put someone in prison for 65 years, you might as well just kill him. It's kind to both the convicted and society.

[JohnLongIsland]

reading up on this judge, john coughenour, it seems that he is reagan's souter

[jhroberts]

The appeal is to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who will probably reduce the sentence to immediate release with unsupervised probation.

[sionnsar]

Evergreen State ping

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[chgomac]

This is a travesty. When an alert INS gal caught this terrorist, she should have been promoted & he should have been thrown in prison for life............

[Just Lori]

and three years off for good behavior

Yeah, even though he tried to murder innocent people and shut down an airport, even though he IS A TERRORIST, since he was a nice boy for a while, we'll give him a break. This is insane.

[connectthedots]

McKay should be as concerned about corruption with the government of the state of Washington.

[The SISU kid]

In an interview with The Associated Press, McKay said another issue in the appeal could be comments U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour made during the sentencing. Coughenour lambasted Bush administration policies for handling "enemy combatants" in the war on terror, and said Ressam's trial and sentencing had proved that the U.S. court system is perfectly capable of prosecuting terror suspects.

Excerpt from this KIRO report.... Seattle Terrorist's Sentence Appealed