U.S. Department of Homeland Security

     U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY   

               DISTRICT 1SR, DIVISION 6 

JUSTICE SERVED

In the heat of all the other world woes -- we never heard this recent  
court decision regarding:
The Shoe Bomber
Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and 
tried to light it? His trial is over.  How much of this Judge's comments 
did you hear on TV? Everyone should hear what the judge had to say. Ruling 
by Judge William Young U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the 
following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It 
is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he 
predicts. I commend it to you and to anyone you might wish to forward it to.
January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid.
Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court 
imposes upon you.  
On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in 
the custody of the United States Attorney General.  On counts 2, 
3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each 
count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other. 
That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 
30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes 
upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate 
fine of $2 million.  The Court accepts the government's recommendation 
with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount 
of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.  The 
Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.  The Court imposes 
upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires 
it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. 
This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is 
a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. 
Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of any of your terrorist 
co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. 
There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone 
with the utmost respect. Here in this court , where we deal with 
individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, 
as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. 
You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. 
You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier 
gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government 
who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your 
view, you are a terrorist.  And we do not negotiate with terrorists. 
We do not treat with terrorists.  We do not sign documents with 
terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. 
 So war talk is way out of line in this court. 
I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask 
you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable 
hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing.
It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You 
hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom 
to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we 
individually choose. 
Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry 
it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual 
freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom.
It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously 
on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, representation 
of you before other judges. We are about it. Because we all know that the 
way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no 
mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, 
to preserve our freedoms. 
Look around this  courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going 
to long  remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it 
will be forgotten.  But this, however, will long endure. Here in 
this courtroom and courtrooms  all across America, the American 
people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, 
not war, individual justice is in fact being done. 
See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of 
America.  That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. 
That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will. 

Custody. Officer, stand him down.
Judge William Young U.S. District Court

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DIVISION 6 FLOTILLAS

014-06-03 (To Mahopac, N.Y.)  014-06-04 (To Verplanck, N.Y.) 

014-06-05 (To Irvington, N.Y.)     014-06-66 (To Tarrytown, N.Y.)  

014-06-07 (To Ossining, N.Y.) 014-06-08 (To Yonkers, N.Y.)

©2005 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
Commercial use and duplication prohibited where applicable by law.
District 1 SR Division 6 Westchester County, New York

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