Onetime "Dirty Bomb" Suspect Sentenced

Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive "dirty bomb" was sentenced to 17 years and four months on terrorism conspiracy charges that do not mention those initial allegations. The sentence imposed b U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke marks another step in the extraordinary personal and legal odssey for the 37 year old Muslim convert, a U.S. citizen who was held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant after his 2002 arrest amid the "dirty bomb" allegations. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence but Cook said she arrived at the 17 year sentence after considering the harsh conditions during Padilla's lengthy military detention at a Navy brig in South Carolina.