2 Somali pirates get life in prison; 3rd gets 33 years

NORFOLK, Va. — Two Somali pirates have been sentenced to life in prison, and a third has received 33 years because he cooperated with prosecutors in a separate piracy case.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson issued the life sentences Monday after a federal appeals court in Virginia ruled last year that he erred when he sentenced the five men convicted in the case to terms ranging from 30 to 42½ years.

In 2010, pirates attacked a U.S. Navy ship that they mistook for a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden. Sailors fired back, killing one pirate. The rest were captured.

A suspected pirates skiff burns on April 9, 2010, near the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland.

Photo Credit: CPO Harry J. Storms/Navy

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