U.S. attorney seeks life plus 30 years for Reid

Richard Reid has called himself a disciple of Osama bin Laden.

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VIDEO The U.S. attorney's office blows up a shoe and a plane to demonstrate the damage Richard Reid could have caused had he ignited the bomb in his shoe. (January 18) PLAY VIDEO RELATED Gallery: Reid's and other high-profile terror investigation cases  • Defendant's motion: U.S. v. Reid  • Government's response:U.S. v. Reid  • Government's Statement of Relevant Facts  (PDF) • New indictment: U.S. v. Reid  (FindLaw document, PDF) SPECIAL REPORT • Interactive: The hunt for al Qaeda • Audio slide show: Bin Laden's audio message, 2/03 • Terror warning system • Special report: Terror on tape • Special report: War against terror

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A U.S. attorney is recommending a sentence of life in prison plus 30 years for Richard Reid, who pleaded guilty in October to trying to blow up a plane by igniting explosives in his shoes.

American Airlines Flight 63, carrying 197 people from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida, was diverted to Boston on December 22, 2001 after passengers and crew saw Reid attempting to light a fuse and subdued him by tying him to his seat. A doctor on board administered a tranquilizer.

FBI bomb technicians and explosives experts found explosives in Reid's shoes.

Reid, 29, a British citizen and convert to Islam, pleaded guilty to all eight counts against him -- including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide and placing an explosive device on an aircraft.

"At the end of the day, I know I did the actions," Reid said when entering his guilty plea last fall.

"Basically I got on a plane with a bomb. Basically I tried to ignite it."

Last week, prosecutors released two videotapes showing what could have happened aboard the flight if the explosives in Reid's shoe had been detonated.

In one video, a wide-body jet explodes, blowing pieces of fuselage in all directions and shearing the plane in half. In the second video, an ankle-high hiking shoe like the one Reid wore is seen hanging on a piece of rope between two poles in a field, then detonated. Pieces of the shoe flare out in bits and pieces amid a plume of smoke, while a large chunk of it bounces along the ground and out of view.

Prosecutors offered the videos to the judge as evidence. (Full story)

Reid has called himself a disciple of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and an enemy of the United States. He also said he did not recognize the U.S. legal system.

Reid's sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. January 30. The government is recommending life imprisonment plus an extra 30 years for count eight of the indictment, "using and carrying a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence."

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