MuD & PHuD

Reid Found Guilty

Richard Reid has been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Junk Yard Blog has some of what the judge had to say as he handed down the sentence. The speech literally gave me chills and...well, read it for yourself:

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, 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're no big deal.
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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 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. You know it always will.
Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

Yes, JYB...Amen!
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