"...Morales is the first gang member in New York to be indicted under the state's terrorism statute, which became law shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

If the charges did not include the terrorism stipulation, he would face a sentence of 25 years to life if found guilty. With the stipulation, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At least 33 states passed laws amending criminal codes related to acts of terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most changes focused on money laundering, cyberterrorism, agri-terrorism and supporting terrorist groups.

New York's use of the statute to prosecute gang-related crime has sparked disagreement among lawmakers who voted for the legislation.

A spokeswoman for state Sen. Michael Balboni, who sponsored the bill, said he does not mind that prosecutors have decided gang violence is a form of domestic terrorism and are using the statute to prosecute Morales.

"Gangs are a forum to promote terrorism," said Balboni spokeswoman Lisa Angerame. "Therefore, the anti-terrorism statue would be applicable against them, even if the original intent for this law was not exactly to prosecute them."

Others say the law is not being used as intended.

"It is not that I want to defend gangs," said state Rep. Jeffrey Dinowitz. "But it should never be justifiable to use laws with purposes other than their original intent.

"We already have the appropriate laws to prosecute gang members for their crimes," he added...."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7199583&src=rss/domesticN ews

The bad news is the law is being interpreted as anything that could cause the emotion of fear being terrorism. Think about that. Anything from a kid bullying another kid at a bus stop to a 4th of July firecracker startling someone could draw a mandatory life no parole sentence.

The good news is if the Yankees add Randy Johnson and/or Carlos Beltran to their roster, I think we can get Steinbrenner indicted for terrorism in NY.