In Rebuke to Military, Jury Sentences Hamdan to Mostly Time-Served
A day after clearing Salim Hamdan of the most serious charges against him, a military jury today sentenced Hamdan to 66 months. Prosecutors in the U.S.‘s first war crimes trial since WWII had originally pushed for a life sentence, and even after yesterday’s verdict called for Hamdan to be sentenced to 30-plus years.
The jury—which had been appointed by the convening authority itself—deliberated for 70 minutes.
The judge had already stated that Hamdan would get credit for the five years he has spent at Guantanamo Bay, meaning he has only another five months of his sentence to serve.
“I wish you godspeed, Mr. Hamdan,” the judge said after sentencing. “I hope the day comes when you return to your wife and your daughters and your country.’‘
‘’Insha’allah,’’ replied Hamdan.
Even after Hamdan’s “sentence” is up, the military can continue to hold him as an enemy combatant. He can be freed when one of two things happen: 1) the government decides that he is “no longer an enemy combatant” 2) the war on terror ends.
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1 comments
hartman_john
Aug. 10, 2008, 8:59 p.m.
Once again, the Federal government overreached and proceeded to show just how incapable they are. Any municipal court in any small town in any state in the country would have come to the same conclusion on Hamdan, and would have done so at an infinitely lower cost than the military tribunal system.
Bush and the Congress set this operation in place. The process is flawed. Those making the decisions as to who to prosecute and what penalty to seek are inept. It should be shut down immediately. Now, the tribunal system has to try and convict some real criminals. Given the cloddish judgement shown in the Hamdan case, we can only look forward to more bumbling and poor handling.
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