Eco-Punk Sentenced To 8+ Years in Prison

Unfortunately, his hippy-dippy jury acquitted him of the most serious charge:

A Caltech graduate student convicted of helping to firebomb scores of sport utility vehicles was sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison and ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution.

A federal judge Monday rejected William Jensen Cottrell's plea for leniency.

"There's no way I'd ever be involved in anything like this again," Cottrell said. "I won't ever even jaywalk again."

Whine, bitch, whine. But do a little poser-pussy's crime, do a man's time.

However, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said Cottrell had engaged in domestic terrorism and "we're very, very lucky" that no one was killed in the arson attacks.

Cottrell, 24, was convicted in November of conspiracy to commit arson and seven counts of arson for an August 2003 vandalism spree that damaged and destroyed about 125 SUVs at dealerships and homes in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles.

Cottrell was acquitted of using a destructive device — Molotov cocktails — in a crime of violence. That was the most serious charge he faced and it carried a sentence of at least 30 years in prison.

I don't know how "crime of violence" is defined in the statute. Common sense would say that BLOWING UP CARS IN A CRAZY VANDALISM SPREE would count as "violence." But perhaps it requires violence towards a person, or with some sort of reckless disregard of harming a person.

And if the latter of course-- then they should have nailed him on it. You don't blow up 125 f'n' cars without taking the chance that someone might be hurt.

At his trial, the prosecution had accused Cottrell of "arrogance" and a "towering superiority" toward people who did not share his environmental views. Cottrell had testified that SUV dealers were evil.

Prepare for a new kind of evil, Billy.

I hear the prison system isn't ecologically-friendly. Particularly as regards arrogant white-boy flakes, such as yourself.

posted by Ace at 12:23 PM

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