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January 31, 2003

So Take That

The judge in the Richard Reid case had some choice words for the shoe-bomber after he was sentenced to life in prison.

Calling the sentence Reid will face "a fair and just sentence, a righteous sentence," Young said, "We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. ... You're big, but you're not that big. You are no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist.

"You hate our freedom -- our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, and to believe or not believe as we individually choose. ... See that flag, Mr. Reid? That is the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is forgotten. And it still stands for freedom."

At the same time, Reid's defense attorney was once again demonstrating that he is clueless:

Defense attorney Owen Walker called Reid "laid back," and said, "You can do a malicious act without being a malicious person."

No, you can't. Assigning the word malicious to an act is a reflection of the actor, not of the act itself. An act cannot act out of malice - it is the result of malice on the part of the actor. Richard Reid is a malicious person. A terrorist - and one who is getting off easily at that.