I'm not all that outraged by the deal; Jihad Johnny was an idiot to have taken up with people who have for years sworn that they were the blood enemies of his own country, but there's no real proof that he did that expecting to wind up in a shooting war with Americans. That 20 year sentence really means 20 years, no parole; it's roughly equal to his entire lifetime leading up to what has turned out to be the most pivotal event in his life.
Best of all, it saved us from a public spectacle on Court TV, something we can all be thankful for. And we don't have to go through a lengthy trial, we already have him judged guilty. Done deal, probably spared the country a load of grief.
Not to mention, he is now obligated to sing like a canary, which is more valuable to us right now than putting his boiled and tarred head on a pike, no matter how much many of us would like that. (Hey, don't knock it, it's part of my Anglo-Saxon heritage!)
And as others have pointed out, the only possible early release coming to this misguided fool may be in the form of "jailhouse justice".
apparently you weren't listening to the news closely enough.. his own lawyer said he'd be out in less than 17 years for "good behaviour". He's no idiot, he's evil, and should be treated accordingly. He needs to be made an example of to any stupid young person who thinks what he did was cool.
Or this traitor might get a presidential pardon. Look wat hat Clinton did -- pardoning Marc Rich, a pedophile, drug dealers, etc.