Something Ashcroft failed to mention was that during Nuradin Abdi's seven months of captivity, he went from a vibrant young man to an empty husk, barely recognizable to his family.
It sound like he can't even participate in his own defense. I'll bet that in addition to admitting his roll in this alleged bomb plot, he also admitted to kipnapping the Lindberg baby.
(On edit)Apologies about the piss poor title. See my mea culpa below.
Story here
"In the courtroom, Nuradin Abdi pressed his face onto a glass-covered tabletop, jerked his head randomly and muttered as his attorney successfully sought the evaluation before trial begins.
Many of Abdi's supporters who attended Wednesday's hearing said they were disturbed to see his shuffling gait and distracted behavior. Abdi has been held in federal detention since his arrest in November."
...
"It was like a different person," said his 17-year-old brother, Mohamed AbdiKarani, who said Abdi is innocent. "He looked at me; he didn't know who I was."
...
"After being helped to a chair, Abdi slammed his face to the glass-covered table and kept it there for a few minutes. During the proceedings, he looked around, smiled at no one in particular, and put his head back on the table.
Abdi also kicked the table, jangled his wrist and ankle shackles and kept pushing his chair back from the table. Toward the end of the hearing, he started muttering.
"The government took a healthy man, and what we have here is a broken man, mentally," said his lawyer, Mahir Sherif. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Peters said he did not object to the evaluation but added, "We have no evidence of any abuse of Mr. Abdi."
...
"The government took a healthy man, and what we have here is a broken man, mentally," said his lawyer, Mahir Sherif."
Why don't I feel like singing a certain Lee Greenwood song?