What Judge Young said to the shoe bomber

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built
into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on
TV/Radio? Didn't think so

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.
Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if
he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court
for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to
Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of
Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize
for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with
your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

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 you
or 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,
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 if you think you are a soldier. You are
not...you are a terrorist. 
And we do not negotiate with terrorists. 
We do not meet 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've known warriors. You are a
terrorist. 
A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple
attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper
Santiago 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 are no big deal.

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 to us 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 wind carries
freedom. It carries 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 Americans are all about freedom. 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 bare 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.
And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on
our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young, but
that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone
should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to
say. Powerful words that strike home.

God bless America.