|
According to the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, out of 234 terrorism or terrorism-related criminal cases since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 207 have resulted in convictions -- a conviction rate of nearly 90 percent. "If you go to trial with a terrorism client, your chances are very slim," said Karen Greenberg, the director of the New York-based center. But Greenberg said a string of recent plea deals in Chicago and elsewhere also might reflect a growing sophistication among defense attorneys, who after 9/11 didn't always have sufficient expertise to secure fair plea deals in terrorist cases. "Until recently, it was an unfair fight" favoring prosecutors, she said. "Defense attorneys now have a better sense of how to get a good plea deal for their clients." Among those who changed their pleas before ever making it to trial in Chicago was Sami Samir Hassoun. The Lebanese immigrant pleaded guilty in April to placing a backpack he thought held a bomb near Chicago's Wrigley Field. His sentencing date is Dec. 6. And last month, a federal judge sentenced Chicago cabdriver Raja Lahrasib Khan for attempting to send aid to al-Qaida to a relatively lenient 7 1/2 years in prison after he changed his plea. He had faced up to 15 years.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor