An Iraqi national who was living in Kentucky and ordered to life in prison for terrorism-related charges has had his bid to vacate the sentence denied by a federal judge.
The Bowling Green Daily News reports that Judge Thomas Russell, in a ruling Wednesday, denied the motion from 29-year-old Mohanad Shareef Hammadi.
Through his appeals attorney, Patrick Renn, Hammadi argued that he received ineffective assistance from his previous attorney, James Earhart, after he was accused of attempting to provide resources to al-Qaida in Iraq in 2011. He says Earhart assured him he would get a lesser sentence if he pleaded guilty to all charges, and that he didn’t realize a life sentence was a possibility.
Earhart testified he wouldn’t tell his client anything of the sort, according to the report.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.