Well, after the punditry gave its, "Of course they are going to find him guilty, statements, the military jury pulled the old switcheroo!
A military jury gave Osama bin Laden's driver a stunningly lenient sentence on Thursday, making him eligible for release in just five months despite the prosecutors' request for a sentence tough enough to frighten terrorists around the globe.
Salim Hamdan's sentence of 5 1/2 years, including five years and a month already served at Guantanamo Bay, fell far short of the 30 years to life that prosecutors wanted. It now goes for mandatory review to a Pentagon official who can shorten the sentence but not extend it.
A little more below.Huff Post Article
We have all squawked and quacked about the kangaroo court that is the military tribunals. "They allowed damaging heresay evidence!" "They didn't obey the same rules that the US Court system uses!" "It's a travesty."
And now this. The prosecution asked for 30 years. The jury gave 5 and 1/2, with credit for time served. What does this mean? Well, yesterday Hamdan faced a 30 year sentence and even after that, possible life for his enemy combatant status. Instead, he is looking at an extra 5 months in prison. 5 months that lead us miraculously to a new President and administration. Holding him longer will be at the behest of the commander-in-chief, and it will be against the military's own decision.
The upshot. The military is sick of Gitmo, it is sick of torturing people who are guilty of being in the way of a psychotic administration, and they just want to send these poor bastards away ASAP. Once again, even the most weighted judicial system, when put in the hands of people who can think, and make clear decisions for themselves, actually works.
Score one for the military.