posted
I wonder if he was armed or had any explosives on him. Otherwise, seems like he just wasn't functioning 100% mentally.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
(To Homestarrunner) Um... I would say his mental processes weren't functioning even if he DID have explosives with him. Though I doubt he did because that would definitely have been mentioned in the article.
posted
That's the max. Under the guidelines, he wouldn't be eligible for close to that unless he has a serious record. Of course, now the guidelines are advisory only. Rape and murder have federal maximums of life in prison and death, respectively.
The press likes to report the maximum, but it's usually only tangentially relevant to the case.
posted
I just wonder if what he did was premeditated. If so, it was obviously not too well planned or executed. It does sound like he just flipped out.
I wonder if that would make a difference in what he's convicted of. 20 years seems pretty harsh for an unarmed assault. It's just that he did it on an airplane.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
For anyone interested, there are 4 “heartlands” in the guidelines for interfering with a flight crew. The numbers given are for offenders with no criminal history:
97-121 months if the offense involved intentionally endangering the safety of the aircraft and passengers.
27-33 months if the offense involved recklessly endangering the safety of the aircraft and passengers.
if an assault occurred, the range could be anywhere from 0-6 months (if no or little contact and injury resulted) to 37-46 months if there was serious injury. I’m assuming no weapons were involved.
Or 4-10 months for all other cases. This is probably a minimum, so the 0-6 above would be upped to 4-10.
There are many, many things that could change these ranges, such as accepting responsibility, assisting prosecutors, etc. Even before the guidelines became advisory, upward and downward departures were possible. But the heartland is a good starting point in determining a likely sentence.
posted
Are you sure? He was headed toward Florida? Why can't he have been coming home? I visit Philadelphia in the winter all the time. Well actually just once, but I do visit Philly plenty.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
[Edit: I think we've covered the Florida/Philly thing now.]
This reminds me of that episode of CSI where the guy died after being "restrained" by the passengers and it turns out he had encephalitis or something.
This guy could be crazy, drunk, or criminal. Or just a democrat bent out of shape after spending 4 hours trying to get on the plane, upset by the trampling of his liberties and the re-election of Bush.
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