Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Pleads Guilty

Umar Farouk Adbdulmutallab, the “Underwear Bomber”, plead guilty to eight counts related to an attempt to blow up a jetliner on Christmas Day 2009.   Some of the charges include the attempted murder of the 278 passengers and eleven crew members, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.  According to two witnesses, Mr. Adbdulumutallab stated, ”I’m guilty under U.S. law, but not under the Koran,” according to two witnesses.

It is not clear why Mr. Adbdulumutallab  decided to plead guilty just two days into the trial and after jury selection had already occurred.  Currently, there is no indication the prosecutors offered him a deal.  Anthony Chambers, a standby attorney for Mr. Adbdulumutallab, commented that he had tried to convince his client not to plead guilty.  “We wanted to continue the trial but we respect his decision,” Mr. Chambers said.  Prosecutors had indicated that they would bring up evidence that Mr. Adbdulumutallab was connected to al Qaeda and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical, American-born Muslim cleric recently killed by the U.S. in Yemen.

Mr. Adbdulumutallab is scheduled to be sentenced in January.  Two of the charges carry a potential life sentence.

A copy of the indictment can be found here: http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/hpc/docs/03.First_Superseding_Indictment.pdf.

A copy of Michigan’s sentencing guidelines can be found here: http://courts.michigan.gov/mji/resources/sentencing-guidelines/sg.htm/.