June 1, 2004
CAN'T TRUST COURTS IN WARTIME:
Terrorist's jail term under fire (Vivienne Oakley, June 2, 2004, news.com.au)
TERRORIST Jack Roche could be free in less than three years - despite confessing to plotting a deadly bombing campaign for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.Yesterday Roche became the first person in Australia convicted as a terrorist since September 11 - and his sentence immediately came under attack.
The prosecution had urged the judge to impose the maximum 25 years to act as a "dramatic deterrent" to those planning atrocities.
"He planned to bring the ideas, the people who are the scourge of the modern, civilised world into his own country," prosecutor Ron Davies, QC, told the District Court in Perth.
But Judge Paul Healy jailed Roche for nine years with a non-parole period of 4 1/2 years.
As Roche has has been in custody for 18 months, he will be free in 2007. Muslim convert Roche admitted:
Harry Morant would have known what to do with him. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2004 7:25 PM
In the US, people who have planned bombings that they never carried out have gotten between 3 and 15 years.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at June 1, 2004 10:06 PMIt's not a question of typical criminal behavior though, is it?
Posted by: oj at June 1, 2004 10:24 PMWell, does it really matter if they want to blow something up for Islam, or because they have a home-grown hate for gov't/society ?
Except for the interrogations.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at June 2, 2004 1:07 AMMichael:
A pipe-bombing nut is insignificant in national security terms.
Posted by: oj at June 2, 2004 9:09 AM