I can't help feeling that the four so-called 21/7 bomb plotters have been, if not judged too harshly in court, then at least, sentenced too harshly. Each were given life sentences, with a minimum tariff of 40 years, after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder. According to "former soldier Arthur Burton-Garbett, 72, who gave chase at Oval Tube station after Mohammed failed to detonate his bomb...he [the judge] gave them not a day too long". I beg to differ because Mr Justice Fulford's summing up of the case was full of ifs and buts. And, it appears that Mr Justice Fulford was sentencing them for the 7/7 attacks because those defendants aren't alive to face justice. I disagree with the judge that "the failed attacks were clearly connected with the bombings that killed 52 people in London two weeks earlier". They were clearly separate incidents and should have been judged separately. It might be said that they are connected in that Al Qaeda and Muslims are involved. But, neither the organisation nor the religion were on trial. We fought the Germans in World War I and again in World War II, it wasn't one war but two separate wars. I think that the trial judge erred in law with these statements "What happened on July 7 in 2005 is of considerable relevance to this sentencing...The family and friends of the dead and the injured, the hundreds, indeed thousands, captured underground in terrifying circumstances - the smoke, the screams of the wounded and the dying - this each defendant knew". The reality is that they failed in their attempts. Lucky for us that they did.
Many years ago in less civilised times when prisoners were transported to Australia a life sentence tended to be 7-8 years, and even today in Sweden it tends to be 8 years on average. But, gradually the life sentence has gone up and up and up. The 40 years tariffs that these 21/7 bomb plotters have received are equivalent to 5 life sentences apiece. In this sense they are excessive. In terms of money I estimate that it will cost at least £4M per prisoner for the 40 years in custody. Some will argue that it is cheap at the price. They were failures, they did not succeed. I feel the sentence should reflect this. Perhaps, between 7-10 years maximum.
