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Jose Padilla Re-sentenced to 21 Years
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke has re-sentenced Jose Padilla to 21 years in prison for his 2007 conviction for conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and main individuals in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; and providing material support to terrorists.
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U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke has re-sentenced Jose Padilla to 21 years in prison for his 2007 conviction for conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and main individuals in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; and providing material support to terrorists. An appellate court had vacated Padilla's original, 17-and-a-half year sentence, after finding it too lenient.
As Lawfarers well know, the case was the source of immense and long-running controversy. Padilla was held in a naval prison in Charleston, S.C. for three years and eight months before being transferred into the criminal justice system. That saga generated extensive litigation: a closely watched habeas proceeding, a civil suit arising from Padilla's interrogation during military detention, and, of course, the criminal case. You can find more on the case in this overview in the Christian Science Monitor.
The Department of Justice's press release can be found here and in the text below.
Department of JusticeOffice of Public AffairsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, September 9, 2014Jose Padilla Re-Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Murder Individuals Overseas, Providing Material Support to TerroristsJohn P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced today that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke re-sentenced Jose Padilla to serve 21 years in prison for his 2007 conviction for conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; and providing material support to terrorists.The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals had remanded the case after upholding the convictions but vacating the original sentence of 17 and-a-half years as too lenient. Padilla faced a sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines of 360 months to life in prison.U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations section. The re-sentencing of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Frazier and Ricardo Del Toro of the Southern District of Florida and Department of Justice National Security Division Trial Attorney Bridget Behling.”14-956 National Security Division
Cody Poplin is a student at Yale Law School. Prior to law school, Cody worked at the Brookings Institution and served as an editor of Lawfare. He graduated from the UNC-Chapel Hill in 2012 with degrees in Political Science & Peace, War, and Defense.
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