The surviving Somali pirate involved in taking a U.S. container ship captain hostage a year ago may plead guilty. The NY Times reports the U.S. Attorney's office has asked a judge to schedule a plea proceeding for Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, who pleaded not guilty last May to charges including piracy under the law of nations and kidnapping: "If convicted of piracy, Mr. Muse would face a mandatory life sentence. One possible strategy by Mr. Muse’s lawyers would be to seek a deal in which he could plead guilty to a lesser charge that would reduce his potential sentence; or to have any cooperation be factored into a request for leniency." It's unclear how old Muse is: Prosecutors said he was 19 last year, while his defense said he was 15.
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