By Paul Shepard on Sep 15th 2010 2:51PM
Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
It's starting to look as though the trial of the would-be Christmas Day bomber is going to turn into a legal circus.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (pictured), the Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up an international flight on Christmas, suddenly fired his attorneys without providing any explanation.
Abdulmutallab then asked the judge presiding over the case, "If I want to plead guilty to some counts...basically, how would that go?"
It sounds like Abdulmutallab, 24, is a very scared, very confused young man who might be making the second biggest mistake in his life (he made the biggest one on Christmas Day) by trying to represent himself in this case.
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Even U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds told the suspect his decision was "unwise." She probably would have liked to jump down from the bench with her gavel in hand and beat Abdulmutallab over the head to get through his thick skull. But that probably wouldn't have worked either.
Abdulmutallab was able to detonate a device hidden in his underwear that sparked a flame aboard the plane. Alert passengers jumped on the suspect and subdued him until an emergency landing was completed.
Abdulmutallab told investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda in Yemen.
With the next court hearing scheduled for Oct. 14, Detroit defense lawyer David Steingold summed up what most people are thinking:
"It's hard to understand what he's thinking," Steingold said.
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Comments: (3)
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By: Michael on 9/15/2010 3:09PM
He may be confused as he did try to blow up himself and everyone around him. But, I think they've decided to cut their losses and rely on their own knowledge and intellect. He realized his lawyers only aim is to bleed them for money and he'd still get 20 to life with poss of parole (fair). I'll wait for outcome cause I suspect this legal system may give him a ridiculous sentence along the 50 yrs to life with poss of parole range. Just to send a message that "you take the bleeding" or else.
My knowledge of TransAtlantic Slave trade and all that came from that, including Belgium Conference, informs me.
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By: BG on 9/15/2010 7:14PM
This article reads:....is a very scared, very confused young man who might be making the second biggest mistake in his life....by trying to represent himself in this case.
Alright. I still will never understand why we assume these people are scared or as we often call them, coward. Ask yourself how brave could you be to want to fly a plane and crash it into a building
very aware of the aftermath. Or in this guy's case,
blow himself up, and very aware of the consequence.
Nigeria, where this guy came from is known to disseminate justice quick. You are caught taking a life, you will only be lucky to make it to the court. The citizen takes that portion of justice into their hands. Even where you made it to the justice system, if the punishment is of a death sentence, it is handed down indiscriminately.
This guy was caught with a smoking gun or in his case, a smoking underwear (hard evidence), he already confessed who sent him. Then we begin embroiled in this legal nonsense that will end up costing us a fortune to defend an enemy even when the guy says it is unecessary.
Tell me, of what use is the legal representation? To set him free?
Someone commits a murder in US, lawyer will often advice he goes to court wearing suit and tie. So, that is intended to exonerate him?
Someone is commited to die in US by lethal injection, the citizen says it is a cruel way to die. Who cares how a serial murder dies? Moreso when he has been sentenced to die anyway.
It looks like we are often the victim of our dumb way of reasoning-the reason these people are fearless.
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By: gerald on 9/15/2010 11:44PM
He needs to go to a military court.
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