Jose Padilla sentencing hearing this week

As detailed in this article from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a high-profile sentencing hearing begins this week in a Florida federal district court.  Here are the basics:

Since his arrest in May 2002, Jose Padilla has been locked in a military brig without charges, harshly interrogated and, finally, tried and convicted for supporting terrorism.  This week, a Miami federal judge will decide whether the former Broward resident prosecutors call a “trained al-Qaida killer” and defense lawyers describe as an “impressionable Muslim convert” should ever walk free again….

Padilla, 37, Adham Amin Hassoun, 45, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, 46, were convicted Aug. 16 of three charges in one of the most high profile terrorism trials since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.  Federal guidelines recommend a term of 30 years to life for Padilla and life for Hassoun and Jayyousi.  However, [U.S. District Judge Marcia] Cooke is free to deviate from those guidelines and impose virtually any sentences, which is why a bitter court fight is expected.  The sentencing hearing, which begins Tuesday, could last several days because of numerous disputes, including some related to Padilla’s 3 1/2-year detention at a South Carolina Navy brig.