A more appropriate sentence for a vile anti American

Crying time for Lynne Stewart

Don't shed a tear for Lynne Stewart -- the radical lawyer who saw her 28-month sentence for aiding terrorists turned into a far more fitting 10 years last week.

At her first sentencing, a grinning Stewart proclaimed "victory" and insisted she could do her short prison stint "standing on my head." Now she's shedding a few tears herself.

The 70-year-old disbarred barrister sobbed before federal Judge John Koeltl as she pleaded with him not to impose a lengthier sentence for helping her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, smuggle messages to an Egyptian terror cell.

"I'm somewhat stunned, judge, at the swift change in my outlook," whined Stewart. "Over the last eight months, prison has diminished me. I sense myself losing pieces of my personhood."

Maybe she should write Dr. Phil.

Happily unmoved, Koeltl hit her with 10 years and one month. He noted her public rejoicing at his initial sentence and her "lack of remorse for conduct that was illegal and potentially lethal."

Of course, Koeltl's no hero. It took an order from an appeals court to get him to reconsider the sentence. Indeed, last time he practically nominated Stewart for a Nobel Peace Prize with his praise.

But Stewart, said prosecutor Andrew Dember, is just "another criminal who fails to accept responsibility for the crime she has committed."

And it was a serious crime.

Either way, she isn't laughing anymore.