NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES: US District Judge Colleen McMahon recently ordered the release of three of the four Muslim converts known as the "Newburgh Four." These individuals had been convicted of a plot to bomb New York synagogues and shoot down planes in a post-9/11 case. The judge declared their original 25-year sentences as "unduly harsh and unjust," placing blame on the FBI for their radicalization.
The individuals granted compassionate release are Onta Williams, David Williams, and Laguerre Payen. Judge McMahon criticized the FBI's sting operation, which led to the arrest of these men. She described them as "hapless, easily manipulated, and penurious petty criminals" who were set up by the federal authorities and their unreliable informant.
‘The real lead conspirator was the United States’
Judge McMahon strongly criticized the government for employing “a villain” of an informant “to troll among the poorest and weakest of men for ‘terrorists’ who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime”.
“The real lead conspirator was the United States,” McMahon wrote. She expressed her disapproval of this tactic, stating that the men were essentially entrapped due to their race, religion, and working-class backgrounds, which the government used to fuel fear of Muslims and support increased budgets.
She said it was “heinous” of the men to agree to participate in what she called the government’s “made for TV movie”. But, the judge added, “the sentence was the product of a fictitious plot to do things that these men had never remotely contemplated, and that were never going to happen.”
As a result of the judge's ruling, the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years for Onta Williams, David Williams, and Laguerre Payen was drastically reduced to just the time they had already served, plus an additional 90 days. The three men will be released in three months, giving probation officers sufficient time to find suitable housing for Payen, who has a mental disability.
One left out of the compassionate release request
Amith R Gupta, one of the lawyers representing Payen and the Williamses (who are not related), expressed their satisfaction with the decision, but also highlighted that their clients' freedom came 14 years later than it should have. Meanwhile, the fourth man involved in the case, James Cromitie, was not part of the compassionate release request and is expected to remain in prison until 2030 to complete his sentence.
Cromitie's attorney, Kerry Lawrence, revealed his intention to discuss pursuing similar legal action for his client. He believes that James Cromitie would be entitled to relief based on the same reasons articulated by Judge McMahon for the other defendants' compassionate release. The arrests of the four individuals, including Cromitie, occurred on May 20, 2009. They were charged with plotting to bomb two Jewish synagogues in the Bronx and to shoot missiles at military supply planes at Stewart International Airport.
