sassa Posted February 24 Report Share Posted February 24 Convicted Spy Won't Face Death Penalty By Jonathan D. SalantThe Associated PressMonday, February 24, 2003; 5:00 PM Convicted spy Brian Patrick Regan was spared the death penalty Monday by a U.S. District Court jury.Regan was convicted last week of offering to sell intelligence to Iraq and China. The jury resumed deliberations and determined on Monday that he did not offer Iraq documents concerning nuclear weaponry, military satellites, war plans or other major U.S. weapons systems - allegations that could have brought the death penalty.Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were the last Americans put to death for spying. They were executed in 1953 for conspiring to steal U.S. atomic secrets for the Soviet Union.Regan will be sentenced May 9 and could receive life imprisonment.The 40-year-old married father of four from Bowie, Md., was arrested Aug. 23, 2001, at Dulles International Airport outside Washington while boarding a flight for Zurich, Switzerland.He was carrying information with the coded coordinates of Iraqi and Chinese missile sites, the missiles that were stored there, and the date the information was obtained, prosecutors said. He also had the addresses of the Chinese and Iraqi embassies in Switzerland and Austria in his wallet and tucked into his right shoe.Regan had worked at the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates the government's spy satellites, first for the Air Force and then as a civilian employee for TRW, a defense contractor.It was unusual for the case to even reach trial. The government, wary of disclosing classified material in public, normally agrees to plea bargains in espionage cases.It also was surprising that the government sought the death penalty in a case in which prosecutors acknowledged sensitive material never was passed. In cases much more damaging to the government, the CIA's Aldrich Ames and the FBI's Robert Hanssen were sentenced to life in prison.During the two-week trial, government witnesses portrayed Regan as a man with almost $117,000 in credit card debts who was willing to sell American secrets for $13 million.Using his access to a classified Internet network, Regan looked up dozens of top-secret documents, including satellite photos of Iraqi missile sites, the prosecution said.Defense lawyers said Regan might have fantasized about spying, but never copied anything of value and had no real intention of selling secrets. Attorney Nina Ginsberg called his actions "childish," "unprofessional," "nonsense" and "harebrained." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnice35 Posted February 24 Report Share Posted February 24 damn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted February 24 Author Report Share Posted February 24 there is the american judicial system at work...why wasn't he convicted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnice35 Posted February 24 Report Share Posted February 24 Originally posted by sassa there is the american judicial system at work...why wasn't he convicted? you didnt read the article throughly my dear.....Regan was convicted last week of offering to sell intelligence to Iraq and China.he was just spared the death sentence.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted February 24 Author Report Share Posted February 24 Originally posted by dnice35 you didnt read the article throughly my dear.....Regan was convicted last week of offering to sell intelligence to Iraq and China.he was just spared the death sentence.... DOH! i know why he was arrested! i obviously posted the article that says so...what i want to know is why they had a sudden change of heart in convicting him? i am against the death penalty but that seemed to be the punishment this government has used in many cases...including that of timothy mcveigh, it can be argued that this guy's actions put this country in jeopardy, as he might have possibly given very sensitive information to other countries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnice35 Posted February 24 Report Share Posted February 24 Originally posted by sassa DOH! i know why he was arrested! i obviously posted the article that says so...what i want to know is why they had a sudden change of heart in convicting him? i am against the death penalty but that seemed to be the punishment this government has used in many cases...including that of timothy mcveigh, it can be argued that this guy's actions put this country in jeopardy, as he might have possibly given very sensitive information to other countries... you are just arguing to argue, he will be punished accordingly, they are just gonna spare his misserable ass. thats all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted February 25 Author Report Share Posted February 25 Originally posted by dnice35 you are just arguing to argue, he will be punished accordingly, they are just gonna spare his misserable ass. thats all. this is bs....and you have not been able to counterargue my point...i'm starting to see right through you, and people like you..when they can't come up with facts or any sort of rationale, they resort to either petty comments, blase remarks, or just stupid insults.please....educate yourself, and i'm not trying to be a bitch when i say this, you really sound very narrow minded in the way you look at the world, this is really a shame. if anything, this harms you more than anyone else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underwater Posted February 25 Report Share Posted February 25 Originally posted by sassa what i want to know is why they had a sudden change of heart in convicting him? i am against the death penalty but that seemed to be the punishment this government has used in many cases the jury deliberated and determined that he had offered but not actually delivered the information to china and iraq....that is the key point that spared him the death penalty....if the information had actually been placed in the hands of the other governments it would have brought swift and certain death....its more of a techicality of the stage of his intent.....see below...It also was surprising that the government sought the death penalty in a case in which prosecutors acknowledged sensitive material never was passed. In cases much more damaging to the government, the CIA's Aldrich Ames and the FBI's Robert Hanssen were sentenced to life in prison. The jury resumed deliberations and determined on Monday that he did not offer Iraq documents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnice35 Posted February 25 Report Share Posted February 25 Originally posted by sassa and i'm not trying to be a bitch when i say this, I know you cant help being one......by the way, wtf am I gonna educate myself to? you want me to be a lefty like your sorry ass? thats what you call educated? you are stupider than I tought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmahs Posted February 25 Report Share Posted February 25 Because non of us have been educated in some 3rd world fucking hole in the desert we are beneath her??? Who the fuck do you think you are??? Aside from your deformed and obviously biased views on MIDDLE EASTERN affairs where the west is always to blame, you are a minus to any other discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyman1966 Posted February 25 Report Share Posted February 25 Originally posted by sassa this is bs....and you have not been able to counterargue my point...i'm starting to see right through you, and people like you..when they can't come up with facts or any sort of rationale, they resort to either petty comments, blase remarks, or just stupid insults. Look - you don't know what type of deal this guy worked out. Maybe he helped break into the bigger ring or something. Why do you have to "understand" why. I trust the system BECASUE IT WORKS. You trust nothing because you are fucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassa Posted February 27 Author Report Share Posted February 27 i'm the one who's supposed to be stupid? what about your belief that the system works???i guess i can't change your mind, if you don't want to help yourself, then no one will help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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