NYC jihadi bomber demands light sentence, complains about his “demonization”

Ahmad Rahimi sowed terror across two states, setting off bombs in Manhattan and on the Jersey Shore.  This devout Muslim deserves a death sentence but he knows Western liberals grovel before the Islamic world, awarding it special status to oppress, subjugate and slaughter in the cause of Allah. Don’t be surprised if, in a few short years, Ahmad Rahimi  lands a job working as a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.

Accused NYC Bomber’s Defense Wants Lighter Sentence Because He Was Shot

By Katie Zavadski, Daily Beast, May 8, 2017:

Defense attorneys for accused Manhattan bomber Ahmad Rahimi have asked prosecutors to consider his “mental and physical health” as part of negotiations for a plea agreement.

In recent filings in federal court, defense attorneys cited Rahimi’s condition from being shot 11 times in September 2016, and his brain injuries, limited longevity, “and/or post-traumatic stress disorder.”

These first revelations about Rahimi’s plea negotiations come after prosecutors asked Judge Richard Berman to rule on Rahimi’s competency as the case proceeds towards trial. The judge denied the motion from prosecutors on Monday, after Rahimi’s lawyers derided that move as an inappropriate judicial involvement in plea negotiations.

Defense attorneys said in their filings they never suggested that they were headed toward a competency examination for Rahimi, and merely asked the government to consider those factors in private plea discussions. The prosecution’s motion “runs afoul of [a] prohibition on judicial involvement in plea discussions,” the defenders wrote.

The government filed the sealed motion on April 24 asking for Berman to intervene, days after defense attorneys clarified that they were not challenging Rahimi’s competency. Defense attorneys submitted emails showing the context of the exchange was about plea negotiations, and that they “don’t expect” to challenge his competency for trial at this time.

This exchange is a first glance at plea negotiations for Rahimi, in a case marked by a contentious relationship between prosecutors and his defense attorneys. In notable disagreements, prosecutors pushed for an early trial date for Rahimi, barely a year after the alleged crimes, while defense attorneys requested a change of venue because of the notoriety of the case in New York City.

Judge Berman denied the defense’s motion to move the trial to Vermont or Washington, D.C. on Monday, saying that New York’s Southern District has a vast and diverse pool of potential jurors to choose from, leaving little doubt in his mind that they’d be able to find 18 individuals willing to give Rahimi a fair shot. (A New Jersey state court recently denied a similar motion on attempted murder of a police officer charges that Rahimi faces there.)