Ms. Scheindlin, who is now retired and works as a mediator and arbitrator, said in an interview earlier this year that she had long considered 25 years imprisonment to be excessive for a sting operation, and had regretted that it was the mandatory minimum she had to impose.

He was convicted of: Conspiracy to kill United States nationals, Conspiracy to kill officers and employees of the United States, conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, and harboring/concealing terrorists. The charges carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. The government had asked for life.

I covered Viktor Bout's criminal case, the sting and the backstory pretty aggressively back in 2011 and 2012, relying on the documents filed in the court cases, here and in Thailand. Some of the posts are extremely detailed. Like this one I wrote on the day of sentencing, and this one on the day the jury began deliberations.

As to reporting on the swap from Russia, here is an interview with Viktor's wife Alla on Viktor's condition and his appreciatio