Terrorism prosecutions often fizzle

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has sharply increased prosecution of terrorism-related cases since the Sept. 11 attacks but many went nowhere and few produced significant prison time, a study released Sunday found.

About 6,400 people were referred by investigators for criminal charges involving terror in the two years after the attacks, but fewer than one-third actually were charged and only 879 were convicted, according to government records reviewed by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

The median prison sentence was just 14 days, according to a study by clearinghouse co-directors David Burnham and Susan P. Long. Only five people were sentenced to 20 years or more.

Critics seized on the numbers to question whether Attorney General John Ashcroft and other top law enforcement officials have been overstating the success of their antiterrorism efforts. Ashcroft frequently reads a long list of statistics on arrests and convictions to buttress his contention that great progress is being made.

Justice Department and FBI officials said the study is rooted in past conceptions of crime and punishment and does not reflect the reality that would-be terrorists seek to blend into society until they are ready to strike.

Lack of lengthy prison terms in many cases can be explained by prosecutors' efforts to stop terrorists before they are ready to attack, often charging them with lesser offenses, such as identity theft, document fraud and immigration violations.

Prosecutors feel it is better to get suspects off the streets and press them for information than wait for events that could produce harsher penalties. They also said the study makes no mention of the value of intelligence collection and the need to reward cooperation with lesser sentences.

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