A Mississippi woman was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison on terrorism charges after an attempt to join the Islamic State -- a journey she attempted to disguise in 2015 as her honeymoon.
Jaelyn Young had faced up to 20 years in prison, just months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.
Mississippi woman sentenced to 12 years for planning to join ISIS https://t.co/maFGsEIFvY
— TIME.com (@TIME) August 12, 2016
According to Time, she broke down in sobs – stating she was ashamed of her actions -- during Thursday’s sentencing, the same day her parents pleaded for leniency.
Young and her fiancé, Muhammad Dakhlalla, were arrested in 2015 before boarding a flight in Columbus, Mississippi, bound for a final destination of Istanbul, Turkey.
In a farewell letter to her family, Young -- the daughter of a school administrator and a police officer – wrote at the time, “I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure,” adding, “I am guilty of what you soon will find out.”
Dakhlalla pleaded guilty in March to similar charges as Young. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24.
