The last Westerner in custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Afghan-Canadian Omar Khadr, has been sentenced to 40 years in jail for war crimes by a military tribunal.  Now 24, Khadr will only serve 8 years as part of a plea bargain agreed upon prior to the final hearing.  He plead guilty to murder, attempted murder, providing material support for terrorism, spying and conspiracy.

Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured by U.S. special forces during a firefight in which he threw a grenade that killed Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer.  He was the first child to be detained by the U.S. since World War II.

Speer's widow was present at the hearing, and cheered out in court upon the ruling being handed down.

Khadr had already apologized to the widow, saying, "I am really, really sorry for the pain I've caused you and your family.  I wish I could do something that would take this pain away from you."

The sentence was the harshest yet delivered by the military tribunal, and was 15 years more than sought by the prosecution. 

For more, read here and here.

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