Huge gap in sentences requested in Chicago terrorism case

CHICAGO - Prosecutors and defence lawyers have recommended starkly different sentences in a Chicago terrorism case.

The case involves a 25-year-old man who was arrested in a 2012 FBI sting after trying to detonate what he believed was a real bomb outside a Chicago bar. The bomb was a fake supplied by undercover agents.

In Friday court filings, prosecutors requested a 40-year prison term for Adel Daoud. But the defence wants him released as soon as a treatment program for his mental health needs can be developed.

Defence attorneys say agents egged Daoud on to participate in the plot, manipulating his fragile mental state. Prosecutors say Daoud showed initiative and repeatedly refused chances agents gave him to back out.

Daoud last year entered the equivalent of a no-contest plea. His multiday sentencing hearing starts Monday.

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  Attorney Thomas Durkin, center, leads his client Adel Daoud's parents, Mona, left, and Ahmed, through the federal courthouse lobby Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Chicago. Adel Daoud pleaded not guilty on federal terrorism charges for allegedly trying to set off what he thought was a car bomb in downtown Chicago. (AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)