David Coleman Headley Sentenced to 35 Years for Planning the Mumbai Attack

David Coleman Headley was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison on January 24, 2013, primarily for his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans.

The sentence

Headley, born Daood Sayed Gilani to a Pakistani father and American mother, had pleaded guilty in 2011 to 12 terror-related counts. In exchange for cooperating with U.S. and Indian investigators, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty and recommended 30 to 35 years.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber made clear what he thought the cooperation was worth. "Mr. Headley is a terrorist," he said. "The easy thing for me to do would be to impose the death penalty, because that's what he deserves." The 52-year-old stood in a baggy gray prison sweatsuit and blue running shoes, hands clasped, eyes mostly down.

Prosecutors acknowledged the tension in their own filing: "There is little question that life imprisonment would be an appropriate punishment but for the significant value provided by his immediate and extensive cooperation." Headley began talking the moment he was arrested, handing over detailed intelligence on terror networks, some of it still classified.

The judge was unconvinced by the remorse. "I don't have much faith in Mr. Headley saying that he's a changed man and that he believes in the American way of life."

What he did

Headley was Lashkar-e-Taiba's American face. Traveling on a U.S. passport under his changed name, he made repeated scouting trips to Mumbai, filming and photographing the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, the Oberoi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and Nariman House. The gunmen who attacked on November 26, 2008, worked from his reconnaissance. He later admitted he had also scouted targets in Denmark for a planned attack on the newspaper that published the Muhammad cartoons.

The Indian angle

India wanted him extradited. The U.S. refused, citing the plea deal, but gave Indian investigators access to question him. For many Indians, 35 years for the man who mapped the targets felt like a discount. For American prosecutors, the intelligence he provided on Lashkar and al-Qaeda was worth the trade.

FAQ

Who is David Coleman Headley? Born Daood Sayed Gilani, a Pakistani-American who scouted Mumbai targets for Lashkar-e-Taiba before the 26/11 attacks.

Why 35 years and not life or death? His plea deal: immediate, extensive cooperation with U.S. and Indian authorities in exchange for no death penalty.

Was he extradited to India? No. The U.S. declined, but allowed Indian investigators to question him.

What did he scout? The Taj, Oberoi, CST station, and Nariman House, the sites of the November 2008 attacks that killed 166 people.

The takeaway

Headley traded 166 lives for 35 years and a cooperation agreement. The judge said it plainly: the death penalty was what he deserved. The deal was what he got.