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Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the Times Square bomb attempt, pleaded guilty June 21 to using weapons of mass destruction?- a plea that could mean he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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"Well, it's obvious by not having a lawyer, he could not precondition his cooperation," says Stan Twardy, a former US attorney for Connecticut and now a partner at Day Pitney LLP.
Although federal guidelines indicate a life sentence for Shahzad, that might depend on what prosecutors told him to get him to cooperate, Mr. Twardy says. "The devil is in the details," says the former prosecutor. "But no matter what, he will get a significant sentence. You don't want to send the message that if you tried to kill hundreds, if not more, but got caught and cooperated, you don't get so much jail time."
Sentencing is set for Oct. 5, but that can always be delayed if Shahzad continues to cooperate, says Twardy.
