A Jordanian man caught in an FBI sting trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison after telling the court he was ashamed of his actions and renouncing al-Qaida. Hosam Smadi, 20, faced up to life in prison but received a reduced sentence after pleading guilty in May to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn could have sentenced him to a maximum of 30 years under the plea agreement.
Just before being sentenced, Smadi addressed the court. "I'm so ashamed for what I did. I'm very sorry for my actions," Smadi told Lynn just before he was sentenced. "I could not live with myself if I had hurt anybody." Smadi also renounced al-Qaida and called its leader, Osama bin Laden, "a bad man." Smadi acknowledged leaving what he thought was a truck bomb in a garage beneath the 60-story Fountain Place building in September 2009. Smadi said he parked the truck, activated a timer connected to the decoy provided by undercover FBI agents, then rode away to watch the explosion.