SPOKANE-- Family and friends of backpack bomber Kevin Harpham are asking the judge to keep his sentence as short as possible.
A plea agreement accepted by the judge puts Harpham's sentencing range at 27 to 32 years.
The backpack bomb suspect pleaded guilty in September to two felony counts including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and an attempt to cause bodily injury with an explosive device because of race or color.
The defense says he should get the low end of the plea agreement because the bomb did not detonate, and other people have received lesser sentences.
They say by the time he's released harpham will be in his mid 60's and will spend the rest of his life on supervision.
Five letters to the judge were submitted on Harpham's behalf which talk about Harpham taking care of his elderly father and elderly neighbor.
His sister wrote for him taking into consideration the seriousness of his charges, which include building a weapon of mass destruction and a hate crimes charge. She says, 'while i know we do not share a common philosophy about race, i am puzzeled at what brought my brother to this point in his life.'
An order by the judge was filed late this afternoon to unseal the hundreds of documents in this case.
