A man who conspired to behead conservative blogger Pamela Geller and others has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a Boston judge after one of the felon’s original convictions was thrown out.
David Daoud Wright, 28, was originally believed to have committed his crimes in the name of ISIS.
He was convicted on four counts: Conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS.
The latter count was overturned in August 2019. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the trial judge made a mistake in how he explained the law to jurors.
“The appeals court said the error meant that jurors wrongly convicted Wright of a crime where the evidence was not as ‘overwhelming’ as the law required, creating a constitutional flaw in his trial that could only be corrected by dismissing the conviction,” wrote the Boston Globe.
Wright argued that he was living in a fantasy world of sorts and that he was never, in fact, actually supporting ISIS.
Justice David Barron wrote in the opinion of the court: “We conclude that a rational jury could have found from this evidence that Wright could have been simply ‘role-playing’ with respect to following ISIS’s direction.”
“If Daoud Wright ever walks free, no matter how old he may be at that time, I will not be safe, and those whom I love will not be safe,” wrote Geller in a victim impact statement. “It is impossible to overstate the devastation that Daoud Wright has brought to my life and that of members of my family. Not only did he target me for a brutal, cruel and violent death, but he targeted also some of my close relatives, and this will never be over.”
In addition to his 30-year sentence, a judge has also determined that Wright will be observed for the remainder of his life after his time in jail is completed.
