35-Year Sentence For Mall Grenade Plotter

A Young Convert To Islam Planned To Attack A Shopping Center In Chicago

(CBS/AP)  A 24-year-old convert to Islam has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for plotting to set off hand grenades in a crowded shopping mall during the Christmas season two years ago.

Derrick Shareef must serve 30 of those years - with five off for good behavior - unless he can get an appeals court to reduce the sentence.

He was arrested in 2006 on charges of scheming to use weapons of mass destruction at the Cherryvale Mall in the northern Illinois city of Rockford.

Federal Judge David Coar said Tuesday he didn't believe Shareef was evil. But he said people could have been severely hurt if federal agents hadn't broken up the plot.

Shareef was a lone wolf, with no ties to any terrorist organization. He never acquired any grenades, according to reports from CBS station WBBM in Chicago.

Shareef describes himself as a devout Muslim who once admired Osama bin Laden but has now realized violence is wrong.

[random_radar]

Shareef was a lone wolf, with no ties to any terrorist organization. He never acquired any grenades, and he never harmed anyone. He will spend three decades in prison for thought crimes. What an interesting trend in government control of the people.

[rational_1]

Shareef was a lone wolf, with no ties to any terrorist organization. He never acquired any grenades, and he never harmed anyone. He will spend three decades in prison for thought crimes. What an interesting trend in government control of the people.
Posted by random_radar at 06:14 PM : Sep 30, 2008

Why don''t you volunteer to have him live at your house instead?

Intent is what matters - and his intent clearly was to hurt or kill a lot of people. So, off to jail he goes. Rightfully so!

[toolmangler-2009]

Let him out now, he has seen the error of his ways, (he will be more careful not to get caught the next time)

[myopinion1]

Islam: Religion of Peace, maybe that should be Religion of Blowing People INTO Pieces. Sick freaks. Thank goodness they caught the loon.

[bob5ford]

This further illustrates the disparity of our sentencing system. Someone convicted of manslaughter, taking a life, usually gets less time in jail then he did. Most drug possession crimes get more then he did. It indicates how little we value our life. Also, if it had been a christian the sentence would have been much longer. We need uniform sentencing with some reasonable basis. It could be done. To have the subjective system that we do have leaves it possible for a murderer to walk free in a couple of years and a jaywalker to spend life in jail. There is no rhyme or reason to sentences, just whatever mood the judge is in on the day. It''''s the biggest travesty in our judicial system today. Don''t get me wrong, he needs to be confined, he''s dangerous. But 35 years fro "plotting" when people who actually kill get less?

[bob5ford]

Correction "If it had been a christian the sentence would have been much SHORTER."

[mljohns00]

Hmmm...things have changed. In the Watergate era, Nixon''s cronies openly admit they sat around a table and make death plots against people like Jack Anderson. It was considered legal because they didn''t act on it. Now a loner, with no explosives, is convicted? Of what?

[rwsmith29456]

"Federal Judge David Coar said Tuesday he didn''t believe Shareef was evil. But he said people could have been severely hurt if federal agents hadn''t broken up the plot." Severely hurt? How about killed and maimed??

[dewbug2]

let the scumbag have his grenades....only make sure he has about 10 of them tied to his own sorry butt when he detonates them in the comfort of his own home....

[dewbug2]

judge Coar didn''t believe this numbnuts is evil?....what is he then, a dammed BOY SCOUT?
Hizzonner the liberal twit probably feels the jerk had a bad childhood....or some othe excuse....was the judge raised on Doc Spock''s book? wouldn''t surprise me.

[neo269]

He didn''t believe he was evil? Maybe if he had tossed a few grenades into the courtroom.

[airboatboy1]

Islam, Religion of Piece. There''s a piece of an arm over there, a piece of a leg over here....

[longtree-2009]

35 years for plotting. In CA, one DWI driver was sentenced to 6 years for killing a human being. Another was sentenced to 18 years for killing 4 people while DWI. But plotting gets one 35 years? Don''t understand the Judicial system at all. Killing someone is sort of okay but plotting is awful.

[checkthepast]

"I have found allah... I must now kill... "
WAKE UP WORLD, THIS HAS GONE PAST STUPID... !!!

[checkthepast]

Blood cults, child sacrifice and infidel murder are not covered by the ''freedom of religion'' clause.

[jmpnghosafat]

Don''''''''t be suprised if this happens...
ACTION ALERT: [supposedly] info from DNC SOURCE NOT VERIFIED
Hi all,
Let me share some info with you that I have gotten from excellent sources
within the DNC:
On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing
health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur
after the VP debate on 10/2.
There have been talks all weekend about how to proceed with this info.
Generally, the feeling is that we should all go ahead and get it out there
to as many blog sites and personal email lists as is possible. I have
already seen a few short blurbs about this - the ''''''''health problem'''''''' cited in
those articles was aneurysm. Probably many of you have heard the same
rumblings.
However, at this point, with this inside info from the DNC, it looks like
this Obama strategy will be a go. Therefore, it seems that the best
strategy is to get out in front of this Obama maneuver, spell it out in
detail, and thereby expose it for the grand manipulation that it is.
So, et''''''''s start mixing this one up and cut the Obamites off at the pass -
send this info out to as many people as you can - post about it on websites
and blogs - etc.
------------------------------------------------------
So? I would have voted for Hillary anyway. I''d rather have her than old a$$ McVain the oil baron and his ventriloquist dummy Palin.

[rational_1]

"I have found allah... I must now kill... "
WAKE UP WORLD, THIS HAS GONE PAST STUPID... !!!
Posted by checkthepast at 08:28 AM : Oct 01, 2008

Oh it went past stupid years ago - we''re currently at anencephalic!

[sfcusarmy1]

Federal Judge David Coar said Tuesday he didn''t believe Shareef was evil.
---------------------------------------------

Yeah this guy sounds like just the type of guy I want dating my daughter.

[nothappyatall]

Shareef describes himself as a devout Muslim who once admired Osama bin Laden but has now realized violence is wrong."

LOL what brought about that realization? the fact he will spend at least 30 years in jail or some change of heart, or it was just a stock BS line given to him by his attorney?