Justice?

Two stories from either side of the Atlantic that illuminate what's wrong with our respective justice systems.

First the UK-

Barot, a Muslim convert, was considered by some U.S. officials to be either al Qaeda's cell leader in Europe or at least the head of bin Laden's organization in Britain.

In early 2001, he had carried out surveillance on the NYSE, Citigroup, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Prudential in New York, Washington, and Newark, New Jersey.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, he turned his attention to Britain and had plotted coordinated attacks using a radioactive "dirty bomb," limousines filled with gas cylinders and the blowing up of an underground train beneath the River Thames.

Had their plans come to fruition, Barot's trial judge said they would have caused "carnage and butchery ... on a colossal and unprecedented scale."

Now compare that previous sentence with this next one-

Last month, the High Court cut Barot's jail term from 40 to 30 years after it was ruled the initial sentence was too harsh.

Now onto the US-

A team of attorneys from Bretz & Coven, LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and Shearman & Sterling successfully persuaded the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)'s precedential decision in Matter of Blake, 23 I. & N. Dec. 722. The Second Circuit's opinion in Blake v. Carbone (2d Cir. 2007), released on June 1, 2007, expands the possibility that aliens convicted of certain aggravated felonies can receive relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The appeal involved four lawful permanent residents who had pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, federal racketeering, first degree manslaughter, and murder in the second degree, respectively. Each petitioner was charged with deportability under the INA for having been convicted an aggravated felony after admission to the United States. Each petitioner sought relief from deportation under former § 212(c) of the INA. The BIA found each petitioner ineligible for a § 212(c) waiver.

This is what passes for justice today?