Millennium bomb plotter to appeal ruling that 22-year sentence was too lenient
By APWednesday, March 17, 2010
Millennium plotter appealing sentence decision
SEATTLE — An al-Qaida-trained terrorist convicted in an attempted bombing on the millennium is appealing a federal court’s ruling that his 22-year sentence was too lenient.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last month that the sentence for Ahmed Ressam was too short. The court removed U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour (KOO’-en-our) from the case, saying it doubted his impartiality after he twice sentenced Ressam to 22 years.
Ressam was arrested in Washington state in December 1999 on his way to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.
Ressam’s lawyer, Seattle Federal Public Defender Tom Hillier, said Wednesday that he will file a petition for rehearing in the 9th Circuit Court.
