Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. Richard Reid’s response, after admitting his guilt to the court for the record, was to reaffirm his “allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah.” He defiantly announced, “I think I will not apologize for my actions,” and he told the court, “I am at war with your country.” Judge Young then delivered the following statement:
“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 statues. 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.”
We need more judges who believe in American justice, like William Young, and fewer who abandon their oaths to confer legal rights upon our enemies to serve some political agenda.
R.S.F.
Tomorrow (Friday 6/26/09) the Cap and Trade, more accurately called the Cap and Tax bill, comes up for House vote. It represents both the largest tax increase and greatest incursion into our lives by government in American history. It must be stopped in its tracks. Passage of this measure will siphon thousands of dollars per year from your family’s pockets.
Stealing Liberty
Today we have Marxist Socialists masquerading as Democrats, who attempt to undermine America and steal our liberty with every excuse they can fabricate. It’s a political party which has been hijacked by the far Left and has given birth to purely self-interested bureaucrats like the Clintons, Gore, Kerry, Murtha, Pelosi, Boxer, Reid, Ted Kennedy and the list goes on. They lie, smear, cheat, steal and sweep aside, by any available means, those who would impede their progress toward achieving the power they so wantonly crave. They’ll stop at nothing, including destruction of The United States Constitution, that guiding beacon of light created by those who established this great nation.
They’ve been taking pot-shots at the First Amendment for years, most recently with the so-called “Fairness Doctrine”. Although Democrats have had some limited censorship success, for the moment at least, our First Amendment rights remain reasonably intact. Now they’ve taken aim at the Second Amendment which specifically states:
The language seems pretty clear to me. We are THE PEOPLE but the Libs are, once more, mongering fear about the average citizen having the right to own a gun. It has come to the point where the Supreme Court will examine Second Amendment language, yet again, and hand down a ruling by July. This could become another hot election issue. The Justices will wield the questionable power of their black robes and decide whether more of our freedom shall be eroded, leaving only sanctioned government agencies to bear arms…or if will “we the people” continue to have that same right, as intended by framers of The Constitution. It is another instance of unelected officials attempting to manipulate our lives. To judge constitutionality is one matter; the making of law is quite another. That is the province of elected public officials.
I hasten to point out a few facts. First of all, the people are the Militia. Citizen soldiers made up the Continental Army and still comprise law enforcement agencies as well as our military. All of us have always been obliged to protect our freedom either by force of arms or the ballot box, the only difference being the matter of a formal uniform. With the dawning of a new kind of warfare, it is not impossible that it may befall citizens to confront terrorism as individuals; we have the right as Americans to take up more than broomsticks to accomplish that task.
Crime seems to be the song of the Left; same old lyrics, same old tune. They seem to ignore that most crime is not committed by people who waited six months for a legal gun permit. Those with intentions to commit harmful acts will always find the necessary implements somewhere, as will perpetrators of crimes of passion. The simple fact is that more crime is prevented by ordinary armed citizens than there are crimes committed with such weapons.
The core issue was raised, this time, by Dick Heller, a resident of The District of Columbia [hint: not a state] where the possession of a hand gun is not permitted. The underlying problem is prying the lid off an age old can of worms with a new opener. Should the Second Amendment not be fully upheld, a dangerous precedent may be set for more liberal interpretation of other amendments in the future. If he really needs a gun that badly, I respectfully suggest that Mr. Heller pack up and move, instead of gambling with the rights of his fellow citizens throughout the rest of America.
R.S.F.