Charges Reduced in Ortega Plot

The government has reduced the charges against two men accused of plotting to kill Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and the maximum penalty on conviction now is five years instead of life imprisonment.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging John Norris, 30, and Donnell Howard, 35, under the federal murder-for-hire statute, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday.

The two were earlier charged with conspiracy and attempted murder of a foreign official, accusations that carry a combined maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction. Under the new charge, the maximum penalty is five years and a $250,000 fine.

“In the opinion of members of this staff and people at the U.S. Department of Justice, the murder-for-hire statute is a more appropriate statute under which to charge them,” Keith Ward, assistant U.S. attorney, said.

“We try to charge people under the statute which is most fitting of the defendants’ conduct without respect to punishment provisions.”

Patrick A. Williams, an attorney representing Norris, said he hopes the government eventually will dismiss all charges against his client.

“The validity of the (first) charge has been shown to be non-existent and has been drastically reduced. We have maintained all along that my client never intended any physical harm toward anyone,” Williams said.

A federal judge is considering a request by Ward to order psychiatric examinations of the defendants.