A 67 year old breast cancer fighter with an amazing record definitely needs to be put away for 30 years.

I heard this on NPR this morning, and I think it is just the thing that the Big Brother folks are worried about. Seems to be someone with a liberal voice is getting made an example of by an government with an irrationally broad agenda in regards to terrorism.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6275377

10/16/2006 12:13:00 PM

Quote :

"Morning Edition, October 16, 2006 · Civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart will be sentenced in New York for aiding terrorists. Stewart was convicted last year of allowing her imprisoned client, the blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, to communicate with his followers by giving a press release to Reuters."

Not sure if it's worth 30 years, but it's not like she's just a liberal voice who has been targeted.

Not sure what her age or cancer has to do with it, either.

10/16/2006 12:22:07 PM

justice is blind, even to cancer patients and amazing records

10/16/2006 12:29:51 PM

^ That might be, but is she a terrorist?

10/16/2006 12:36:54 PM

since when do we not allow prisoners to communicate with the outside world?

oh yeah! since we took away all the rights we afford people in this country! freedom is on the march!

10/16/2006 12:47:55 PM

I'll just add to this thread, since this is Big Brother-esque

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/10/opinion_monitor.html

10/16/2006 9:56:54 PM

seems alittle overboard.

10/16/2006 10:03:34 PM

With Stewart, I think the important issue is whether she knew that the information she was transmitting would likely result in the death of more innocents. The fact that she was his lawyer does not relieve her of the moral imperative to save innocent lives.

With her history of defending murderous groups of people, I find it hard to believe that she wasn't aware that she was helping assist yet another terrorist group, bent on the murder of innocent people.

She is either a misguided useful idiot for terrorists, or a fellow traveller of these evil groups. Either way, a dangerous player.

10/16/2006 11:46:02 PM

yes.

btw, I answered without reading

10/16/2006 11:48:25 PM

Quote :

"Either way, a dangerous player."

I disagree. She is getting punished, and harshly, for a single report she submitted to Reuters. For one, a death based on that report will never be quantifiable, unless it is the case that some jihadist states "I am going to suicide kill Americans based on these words", and I think we all know that won't happen.

Also, it isn't like this was a systematic underminning of our fight against terror spanning months. years, thosands of people, and dollars, etc.

This was, in my opinion, an isolated incident. She should be fined, and given a stern lecture on how this undermines our effort, and warned if she does it again, the consequences will be worse.

You could say that she is a lawyer and she should know better, but with the complexity and ambiguity of our penal code, I don't think this is very valid.

10/17/2006 11:16:23 AM

Maybe I missed something, but did she actually get sentenced yet? Is 30 years a maximum that you are implying is bound to be applied here to make the punishment look harsher than it really will be?

I mean, that lottery fuck-o here in Raleigh could get 100 years for his crimes, but everyone knows he's not gonna.

10/17/2006 11:47:56 AM

she was actually sentenced to 28 months

which seems much closer to appropriate

10/17/2006 11:53:01 AM

is the blind sheik a citizen here anyways?


anyhow...fuck him

and anyone helping him

10/17/2006 11:53:41 AM

Well, this is interesting....

The Boston Globe says:

Quote :

"In fact, [Judge] Koeltl made it clear that Stewart had committed a serious offense by smuggling messages between her client, Sheik Omar-Abdel Rahman, and his followers in the Middle East, including a statement withdrawing the sheik's support for a cease-fire with the Egyptian government. Stewart's actions, Koeltl said, constituted ``extraordinarily severe criminal conduct" and material support for terrorism and could have had ``lethal consequences.""

http://tinyurl.com/ymps7d

Reuters says:

Quote :

"A New York attorney convicted of aiding terrorism by helping a client smuggle messages to militant followers was sentenced on Monday to 28 months in prison. Lynne Stewart, 67, was convicted in February 2005 of helping her imprisoned client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, to contact the Islamic Group, which is listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization."

http://tinyurl.com/y3kl9a

NPR:

Quote :

"Stewart was convicted last year of allowing her imprisoned client, the blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman [who was convicted for involvement in the 1993 WTC attack], to communicate with his followers by giving a press release to Reuters."

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Edited on October 17, 2006 at 11:57 AM. Reason : ]

10/17/2006 11:55:35 AM

now thats shocking

10/17/2006 11:58:55 AM

Ah...I guess I got all my info mixed up. Seems like she made the Reuters report, and after getting scolded, continued to smuggle messages. At least that is how I read it.

If that is the case, then yea, she needs punishing, and 28 months is probably pretty good.

10/17/2006 12:06:16 PM