http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101015/ap_ … r_crimes_1A plea deal that would reportedly keep a Guantanamo prisoner in custody for eight more years isn't sitting well with a key witness against him: a former Army sergeant who was partially blinded and lost a friend in the firefight that led to the alleged al-Qaida militant's capture.
Layne Morris said Friday that Canadian-born Omar Khadr should get at least 20 years in prison, and perhaps much longer.
"They ought to lock him up until he's no longer a threat, and if that's for the rest of his life, so be it," Morris said in an interview with The Associated Press a day after Khadr's lawyers disclosed they were negotiating a possible plea deal.
Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured following the firefight in Afghanistan in 2002, was originally scheduled to go on trial Monday at the U.S. base in Cuba. He faces war crimes charges that include murder for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, a special forces medic from Albuquerque, New Mexico. If convicted, he faces a maximum life sentence.
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There have been plea talks before, but Khadr himself has resisted, saying it would excuse the harsh treatment he endured during captivity. He also denies throwing the grenade that killed Speer.
The Khadr case is problematic for the U.S. because of his age and the fact that his father, who was killed in 2003, had close ties to senior al-Qaida leaders. His lawyers and human rights groups say Khadr was a child soldier, essentially brainwashed by his family, who should be sent home and rehabilitated.
Does anyone beside me see it as kinda stupid to be charging a 15 year old with war crimes considering he was taken over there to fight by his father? Also how is it really a war crime to kill someone who would have killed you since it was a war?
Last edited by Macbeth (2010-10-16 05:01:03)
