Personal Note from Gwen:

This is the very first thing I ever wrote, even before I realized how great my need to speak. I received this message from my mother-in-law and to tell you the truth, it made me angry. Other, similar comments motivated me to post it at a discussion group. (Sorry it's so long.)

[Begin forwarded message, my comments to follow]

"Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments TV/Radio?
Didn't think so.

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

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 you or 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, 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 if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet 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. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

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. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us 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 wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. 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 Americans are all about freedom. 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 bare 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. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

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. And it always will.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets?

We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.

[End forwarded message]

This is exactly why terrorism continues. They have had a beef with us for years and we have not paid any attention. As far as they are concerned, they have been at war with us for a very long time. Finally, they lash out at us in a way we cannot ignore out of absolute frustration and suddenly it's terrorism and they are threatening our way of life. We don't listen to their problem, we don't try to solve anything in a way that will actually lessen hostilities, we don't even have the courtesy to acknowledge their monumental disatisfaction and their declaration of war.

Arguments like this show that we only value our own freedom and everyone else can go pound sand. These people couldn't care less how we run our country, they just don't want us interfering with theirs. If there was no oil in that part of the world, we would have no interest in them at all. We interfere (because we HAVE to HAVE OIL!), they get angry (just like we would), we ignore them and they must go to greater lengths to be noticed (just like we would if we were in the same position.) Then still, we label and ignore a whole segment of the world because it does not coincide with what we want. It is a vicious cycle that will never end as long as we are too proud to listen to the needs of others, especially as those needs arise instead of waiting until their only way of being heard is terrorism.

My mother-in-law has bought into the propaganda of long-winded, grandstanding speeches instead of facing the facts. If you look at the big picture, you will see that our activities in the Middle East over the decades have been criminal and have nothing to do with anyone's freedom but our own. We have created these terrorists and killing them won't do any good until we've killed every last Muslim in the Middle East. The goal of our current path seems to be kill all the complainers (or beat them down so badly that they no longer have the strength to complain) and then we can do whatever the heck we want. Sounds just like Hitler doesn't it?

Our leaders claim to be Christian, instilled with Christian values. Chirst lived in the Middle East, do you think he would condone what we have done? Are there any religious leaders who would say it's ok to bring war and destruction to thousands of innocent people for our own personal gain? Where in the Constitution does it say that American's or Christian's concerns far outweigh the lives and livlihood of everyone else?

I think this is very important. The people who control our government obviously cannot see the problem for what it is. I suggest that if we spread this kind of thinking as far and as wide as we possibly can, perhaps we can bring some sense to this situation and effect real positive change. We need to tell our mothers-in-law and everyone else who will listen that current policies are only making it worse. We need to get this kind of thinking and understanding into the mainstream if we are ever to see true peace on Earth.