Quite possibly serving a sentence in Brazil would be just deserts for Scott Kennel, but think of how the situation would have panned out:
On his arrest, NTM would have gone into hyper mode. A statement would have been issued something like this:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Devil is trying to destroy our work in Brazil. One of our Brothers stands falsely accused of serious crimes. Please pray and donate to free him. Pray that the Brazilian justice system (which is not as good or immune from corruption as here in the U.S.) . . . .
Then there would have been the facebook campaign "Free Scott Kennel" with the bombarding of Brazils sovereign justice system with naïve facebookers.
The U.S. government would not want relations soured between Brazil and the U.S. It is quite possible that the matter was discussed at high level and the course of action was predetermined.
Also take into account President Obamas excellent statement about the punishing of U.S. troops who commit crimes when on duty overseas. This could possibly have something to do why a harsh sentence (and in my opinion appropriate) was handed down.
Imagine if due to public pressure, Scott Kennel was found not guilty in a Brazilian court, he would now be on speaking tours and NTM would be profiting from the sympathy.
ICE got it right in my book. Scott Kennel is locked up and only a very brave or foolish person is going to call that decision wrong.
Remember what happened when Pastor Joe was arrested in the Philippines.
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