Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and
tried to light it? His trial is over. How much of this Judge's comments did you
hear on TV? Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.
Ruling by Judge William Young
U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to.
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, 4 and 7,
the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on
each count to run consecutive with the other. That's 80 years. On count 8 the
Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just
imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000
for the 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 the $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. Let me explain this to you.
We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are
Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk
here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court,
where 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 it is the officers of government who do it or your
attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist. And
we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat 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 know warriors. You are a terrorist. A
species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense
Trooper Santigo had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into
custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said
you're no big deal. You're no big deal. What your counsel, 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 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 winds carry freedom. They carry 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 and
have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other
judges. We are about it. 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. 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. You know, it always will.
Custody Mr. Officer. Stand him down."
(contributed By Mike Allen - Spencer, West Virginia)