The US district judge Colleen McMahon on Friday granted James Cromitie, 58, compassionate release from prison six months after she ordered the release of his three co-defendants, known as the Newburgh Four, for similar reasons. The four men from the small river city 60 miles north of New York City were convicted of terrorism charges in 2010.
Yes, it seems that these men - all the usual suspects, of course - wouldn't have dreamed of being terrorists if some undercover agents hadn't said 'Hey, buddy, fancy doing a bit of terrorism?'...
And we aren't talking about small acts here, either:
Prosecutors in the high-profile case said the Newburgh defendants had spent months scouting targets and securing what they thought were explosives and a surface-to-air missile, aiming to shoot down planes at the air national guard base in Newburgh and blow up synagogues in the Bronx. They were arrested after allegedly planting “bombs” that were packed with inert explosives supplied by the FBI.
But for Colleen, that's apparently not enough to mark them out as terrorists.
Cromitie was bought into the phony plot by the federal informant Shaheed Hussain, whose work has been criticized for years by civil liberties groups. McMahon called him “most unsavory” and a “villain” sent by the government to “troll among the poorest and weakest of men for ‘terrorists’ who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime”.
Yes, their only 'crime' is to be susceptible to incitement to terrorism. Apart from that, they are just normal American citizens... if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you, Colleen!
Lawrence, Cromitie’s attorney, said on Saturday he had not yet been able to reach his client, but that Cromitie’s family was very happy. “I’m obviously thrilled that Mr Cromitie will be released from prison, but still believe that his conviction was entirely the product of government entrapment,” Lawrence wrote in an email.
You know how he could have avoided that conviction? He could have said 'No, sorry, I'm not a terrorist' when the government agents came looking for a patsy.
You're right Julia, in the sense that we are all tempted and should resist the temptation. Yes they are guilty as charged, had they not been tempted would they have attempted these crimes? Why should their government go out to test the resolve of otherwise innocent citizens? Why were the agents motivated to do this to those individuals? If I were presented with the opportunity to do harm to those whom I perceive as my enemy would I be able to resist the temptation?
ReplyDeleteThere are many questions, too many to make this a cut and dried one thing or another.