Appeals Court – Sentence Terrorist Ressam Again

I a rare move, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered that Ahmed Ressam, a convicted terrorist arrested in December 1999 in Port Angeles with a car full of explosives, be sentenced again.

And this time, the court has ordered that U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, who presided over Ressam's trial and his sentencing and re-sentencing, not be involved.

Ressam also will likely face a much longer sentence, given that the appeals court noted several times how much lighter his 22-year sentence was than what sentencing guildelines call for.

In a 2-1 decision, the court's majority said Coughenour's sentence — 43 years below the low range of the federal sentencing guidelines — was “both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.”

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