Ninth Circuit Overturns Lower Court's Light Sentence For Attempted Al-Qaeda Millenium Bomber

The LA Weekly reports that the "U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the conviction of the man who put LAX on the terror map, concluding that Ahmed Ressam was not given enough time behind bars for his plot to bomb the airport on New Year's Eve, 1999. The man, who was caught driving a vehicle loaded with a bomb into the U.S. from Canada at Port Angeles, Wash. that December, later cooperated with authorities and admitted he had been trained by Al-Qaeda. After his conviction in Los Angeles he was given a 22-year sentence, which was half way between the defense team's request of 12-and-a-half and the 35 years recommended by federal prosecutors. However, Ninth Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcón wrote that 'Ressam's crimes of conviction carry an advisory sentencing guidelines range of 65 years to life in prison, and a statutory maximum penalty of 130 years in prison.' The court voted 2 to 1 to have Ressam re-sentenced in Seattle. 'We conclude that the district court committed procedural error in failing to address specific, nonfrivolous arguments raised by the government in imposing a sentence that is well below the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range,' wrote Alarcon." Tweet