BREAKING: An eight-officer jury has handed down a 26-year sentence to this confessed Al Qaeda courier, starting from his February 2012 guilty plea.
It's symbolic. Defendant Majid Khan has a side deal with a senior Pentagon official for a shorter sentence.
nytimes.com/2021/10/28/us/…
It's symbolic. Defendant Majid Khan has a side deal with a senior Pentagon official for a shorter sentence.
nytimes.com/2021/10/28/us/…
The jury panel was given a sentencing range of 25 to 40 years. Prosecutors had asked for the upper end. Defense lawyers asked for the lowest, 25 years, invoking the prisoner's torturous 2003-06 odyssey through the black sites and his contrition.
In the side deal, Mr. Khan's sentence could end as early as February or as late as 2025 -- depending on analysis of his role as a government cooperator.
Based on quick math the U.S. military jury sentenced him to imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay until 2038.
Based on quick math the U.S. military jury sentenced him to imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay until 2038.
Also, in a surprise, the anonymous Navy captain jury foreman said he took up a request by defense lawyers and drafted a letter to the overseer of military commissions to consider granting Mr. Khan clemency. He said seven of the eight panel members signed it.
Now, the sentencing hearing is over, after a spirited if confusing discussion among the judge, prosecutors and Mr. Khan's lawyers about how the guilty plea agreement intersects with a judge's award of 1 year off the eventual sentence and other variables.
As he declared the military commissions portion of the case concluded, the judge, Air Force Col. Mark W. Milam, turned to Mr. Khan and offered him "all the best in the future."
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