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    Lawyer: Life in prison unfair for underwear bomber

    DETROIT (AP) — A mandatory life sentence for a Nigerian who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound plane is cruel and unfair, a defense attorney said Monday as he asked a judge to declare the punishment unconstitutional.

    No one aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 187 except Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was physically injured, Anthony Chambers said. Abdulmutallab's groin was severely burned when he tried to ignite a bomb in his underwear.

    Abdulmutallab is returning to court for his sentence Thursday, four months after he pleaded guilty to trying to destroy an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight on Christmas 2009. He said he was acting on behalf of al-Qaida. Two of the crimes carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

    Abdulmutallab "fully accepted responsibility for his actions but the need for proportionality in terms of sentencing is paramount," Chambers said. "A mandatory life sentence under these circumstances is excessive."

    Abdulmutallab, the well-educated son of a wealthy Nigerian banker, is representing himself, with Chambers assisting him as his standby counsel. Four or five passengers, just a slice of the nearly 300 people who were aboard Flight 187, are expected to speak at the court hearing this week.

     
    • slconfidential  •  3 mths ago
      Fry the rest of him, since his wee wee is already gone
      • Max 3 mths ago
        really? did he burn off his own wee wee? if that's true, then that would be just wonderful!
      • Adela Juliana 3 mths ago
        Just that is a horrible sentence, now he's really going to be a prison #$%$
      • Timothy 3 mths ago
        are u sure it was "wee?"
    • Yourmomlikesme  •  Pleasanton, California  •  3 mths ago
      life in prison is too kind for this parasite.
      • A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
        hehe...not at his size....
      • You have been warned! 3 mths ago
        This parasite was a U.S. gov operative. Do your research.
      • tim19620 3 mths ago
        Nah, give him life in prison. Feed him pork chops, bacon, and ham.
        Throw him into a windowless cell so he has no way to tell which direction is east.
        No prayer rugs allowed in prison.
        Then when he dies, pee on his rotting corpse...
    • ModernN  •  Denver, Colorado  •  3 mths ago
      He attempted to kill several hundred people. Just becuase he failed doesn't make him less culpable. The only tragedy is he should be shot for this, not fed on our dime.
      • steve p 3 mths ago
        I would rather see him hung slowly, just like Saddam.
      • Smokes 3 mths ago
        I guess some Liberal idiot gave you a thumbs down? Or Bin Laden's brother?
      • Ben 3 mths ago
        They should strap a bomb on his underwear and "Poof"...
    • DaddyDuck  •  Bennettsville, South Carolina  •  3 mths ago
      I don't agree with a life sentence either. I think it's total #$%$ I say execute the son of a #$%$ The defense lawyer want to release him so he can try again. Why take a chance.Throw him from a high building.
      • richard 3 mths ago
        or a low building over and over until Allah wouldn't even recognize him
      • Jenny S 3 mths ago
        Too bad he can't be tossed over the top of the WTC. That would have been justice.
      • Allen Williams 3 mths ago
        Tie an anvil to his feet and drop him in the same location where they dumped bin laden's body so he can enjoy the full view on the way down from fifty five thousand feet and to the bottom of the ocean, they could be buddies buried at sea forever.
    • Army Lifer  •  Williston, Vermont  •  3 mths ago
      How about 300 counts of attempted murder for each passenger which should be 20 years on each count. that makes 6000 years, that sounds fair. ignorant lawyers, she wouldn't think that if someone she loved was killed by terrorists.
      • james n 3 mths ago
        Didn't see your post. Said the same thing. :) I only gave him one year for each so he only has to do 300 years under my punishment!!
      • Tesarra 3 mths ago
        actually, the base guideline for federal sentencing is 33 years per count if the completed act would have been classified as first degree murder
      • Andrew 3 mths ago
        Don't blame the lawyer, he's just doing his job. He was assigned the client as a federal public defender. Every defendant is entitled to representation, which is what is happening here.
    • My opinion  •  3 mths ago
      That is correct, life behind bars is unfair. Unfair that my tax dollars have to support this creep. Strap a bomb to his underware and show him how to correctly explode. Just My Opinion.
    • bonni  •  Piscataway, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      So....let me get the logic here because I'm not a lawyer. A life sentence is"cruel and unfair" but had he succeeded he and 300 other people would be dead....umm...IDK. Sounds like a life sentence is about right to me.
    • Sunshine Connie  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      I would have preferred the death penalty.
    • evil twinkie  •  3 mths ago
      they should shove a working bomb up his #$%$
    • James  •  3 mths ago
      "Lawyer: Life in prison unfair for underwear bomber" He's right. Should be at least 2 life sentences served consecutively.
    • johann  •  3 mths ago
      I wonder how "unconstitutional" that POS lawyer would feel it was if his wife or children were on that plane. The judge needs to hold his stupid a__ for contempt of court!
    • Hillbilly  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  3 mths ago
      The man did the crime and should serve the time. He tried to kill nearly three hundred people and that right there is best best reason for him to serve a life sentence without parole.It does not matter that no one but wanna be bomber was hurt, he still broke the law and the only reason those nearly three hundred people wasn't murdered by this man was because someone was a lousy bombmaker. No cutting of his sentence, he did the crime and should spend the rest of his life behing bars.
    • david  •  Plymouth, New Hampshire  •  3 mths ago
      He tried to kill a few hundred people he didn't know. A life sentence is more merciful than the fate he tried to offer them. It's kind of funny that he torched his #$%$ off for the glory of his god. His virgins are sure gonna be disappointed!
    • TJ  •  3 mths ago
      He's right. A bullet between the eyes would be far more Constitutional.
    • really  •  3 mths ago
      LOL. He damaged himself trying to set off a bomb in his pants? Wow, mental giant. And how is this sentence unfair? He tried to kill how many? Ok, let's say 20 years for each attempted murder-served consecutively. That should do it.
    • Tom  •  Pocatello, Idaho  •  3 mths ago
      The way I see it, if he was any good at what he was trying to do, he'd be dead along with an entire plan full of people...propigating his own death sentence. If nothing else, he deserves life just for being such a sh***y suicide bomber.
    • JP  •  Surfside, California  •  3 mths ago
      Burn him alive. That's what he tried to do to the people on that plane.
    • Bobbo  •  Dallas, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      What would had been “cruel and unfair” is if his plan had killed the others on the plane, people like this have no place in society
    • William S  •  Las Vegas, Nevada  •  3 mths ago
      Send him and his lawyer to Gitmo.
    • Hollis L  •  3 mths ago
      I say disbarr this attorney if he thinks this in unconstitutional. this man could have blown up a plane load of innocent people.
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