‘DAMAGING JUSTICE’

Appeals Court: 17-Year Sentence in Terrorism Case Is ‘Shockingly Low’

Fareed Mumuni was sentenced in 2018 after pleading guilty to charges that he sought to aid ISIS and planned to kill an FBI agent.

A federal appeals court has ordered a judge to re-sentence a New York City man who pleaded guilty to trying to aid the Islamic State group by planning to kill an FBI agent, calling the 17-year sentence he got “shockingly low.” Fareed Mumuni, a 25-year-old U.S.-born citizen, was sentenced in April 2018 after pleading guilty to the charges. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said that an 85-year prison term—recommended by sentencing guidelines—is in accordance with Congress’ judgement that “terrorism is different from other crimes.” One of the three judges dissented on the appeal panel, noting that Mumuni’s sentence might be sufficient if the judge could explain the reasoning behind it.

The appeals court said the judge “drastically discounted the seriousness of Mumuni’s offense conduct based on a sterilized and revisionist interpretation of the record,” adding that the “clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence leaves us with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed — a mistake that resulted in a shockingly low sentence that, if upheld, would damage the administration of justice in our country.”