White Supremacist Gets 40 Years

Matthew Hale Guilty Of Plotting To Kill Federal Judge

(CBS/AP)  Matthew Hale, an avowed white supremacist and leader of a group that preaches racial holy war, was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday for trying to have a federal judge killed.

"Mr. Hale is not concerned about taking someone's life, but rather how to do it without getting caught," U.S. District Judge James Moody said in imposing the sentence. "I consider Mr. Hale to be extremely dangerous and the offense for which he was convicted to be extremely egregious."

Hale, 33, showed no emotion and sat staring at the defense table as the sentence was handed down. Moments earlier, he delivered a rambling statement in which he insisted that no crime had been committed.

Hale was convicted in April 2004 of soliciting an undercover FBI informant to murder U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow of Chicago in retaliation for her ruling against him in a trademark dispute.

Prosecutors said Hale was furious that Lefkow ordered him to stop using the World Church of the Creator name for his group. Lefkow said the name was trademarked by an Oregon-based church group.

The hearing comes weeks after Lefkow's husband and elderly mother were shot and killed in the Lefkow home. Early suspicion fell on Hale followers but days later a Chicago man disgruntled over a ruling in his medical malpractice lawsuit fatally shot himself in Wisconsin and confessed to the slayings in a note.

Hale acted as his own attorney during the sentencing, as he had for much of the trial. He compared himself to Lefkow, saying they were both victims.

"Before you does stand a man who not only is innocent, not only is demonstrably innocent, but who refused to join a plot against Judge Lefkow's life," Hale said.

Also Wednesday, federal judges asked the government to provide them with improved security.

In a letter to President Bush and Congress, the Judicial Conference of the United States said judges were "feeling particularly vulnerable, not only for themselves, but also for their families," in light of the Lefkow murders and last month's deadly shootings at an Atlanta courthouse.

The judges asked for a "comprehensive package of off-site security enhancements," including $12 million for home security systems.

Despite assurances from the Marshals' Service that judges are well protected, the letter says there is "woefully inadequate" staffing at the Marshals' Service, and that its threat investigation system is inadequate.

"I'm not sure that the judiciary as a whole, or Congress for that matter, has a ton of confidence right now in the Marshals' Service," said CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen.

"Funding for judicial security has gone up a lot since 9/11," says Cohen, "but the Marshals Service did very poorly in an evaluation conducted just over a year ago by the Office of Inspector General. That dynamic clearly will play in here."