Time served a factor

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said his decision not to retry Sami Al-Hussayen on immigration charges came in part because the possible penalty likely wouldn’t have exceeded the 16 months the student already has spent in jail. Even with a conviction and new jail sentence, with credit for time served, Al-Hussayen would be freed and sent home.

“No matter what the verdict, the end result would likely be the same – he would be deported,” Moss said. “I therefore determined that retrying him would be an unreasonable expenditure of time and resources for very little return.”

Moss added that he still thought the case was handled appropriately by prosecutors and investigators. “It’s a case that should’ve been tried,” he said. “It was a tough decision going in, but it was the right decision, given the facts we had to deal with.”