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Reaction to Shoe-Bomb Sentencing

Associated Press
Published | Updated

BOSTON – Reaction to the life sentence handed down Thursday for Richard Reid, who admitted trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes:

"You are not an enemy combatant -- you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war -- you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."

-- U.S. District Court Judge William Young, to Reid.

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"There is very much an absence of personal hate in his behavior. It is like a soldier.... War crimes are punished now. Who is punished? It is the generals who are punished."

-- Owen Walker, Reid's attorney.

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"In his mind, the religion of Islam justifies the killing of innocent civilians. In his mind, the horrific and homicidal attacks of Sept. 11 were but a missed opportunity."

-- First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.

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"I believe that Richard Reid was on a mission of evil, a mission of destruction and a mission of murder. Richard Reid put all of us on this flight under great stress and trauma."

-- Carole Nelson, a flight attendant aboard American Airline Flight 63, during Reid's sentencing hearing.

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"Richard Reid will spend the rest of his life behind bars because of the vigilance of the passengers and crew aboard American Airlines Flight .63. Their heroism averted disaster and sent a message to the terrorists: the American people are resolved to defeat those who would murder the innocent. The sentence imposed on Richard Reid says to the world that terrorists cannot escape American justice. We will hunt them down, stop them and we will put them away."

-- Attorney General John Ashcroft.

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"American Airlines remains enormously proud of the entire crew of flight 63. They are true heroes in the eyes of each of us at American Airlines."

-- Airline statement.

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"The only regret Richard Reid has ever expressed is not having been sent to participate in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Reid's intentions on Dec. 22, 2001 were clear: he wanted to murder innocent people in the name of his fanatical religious beliefs."

-- U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan.