Underwear Bomber Gets Life in Prison

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, otherwise known as the underwear bomber, has been sentenced to life in prison for attempting to blowup a US-bound flight on Christmas day in 2009.

The Associated Press reports that the underwear bomber plead guilty to all charges against him last fall.

USA Today reports that Abdulmutallab, the son of a wealthy banker, called the bomb in his underwear a “blessed weapon” that would avenge Muslims around the world. When Abdulmutallab plead guilty, he said:

“The US should be warned that if they continue to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims, then the US should await a great calamity… or God will strike them directly.”

Abdulmutallab tried to detonate the device aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit but the bomb malfunctioned. The underwear bomber was badly burned during the incident.

The defense argued that Abdulmutallab didn’t deserve a life sentence because no one was injured in the incident. Defense lawyer Anthony Chambers said: “Not one passenger lost his or her life. Not one passenger suffered life-threatening injuries.”

But the prosecution argued that Abdulmutallab instilled fear into the American public. The prosecutors wrote in a court filing last week:

“(Abdulmutallab is an) unrepentant would-be mass murderer who views his crimes as divinely inspired and blessed, and who views himself as under a continuing obligation to carry out such crimes… Unsuccessful terrorist attacks still engender fear in the broader public, which, after all, is one of their main objectives.”

Are you happy that the underwear bomber received a life sentence?