American who hijacked jet to Cuba gets 20 years

Miami: An American who returned from Cuba decades after hijacking a jetliner to the communist island has been sentenced to 20 years in US prison but will be eligible for early release on parole.

US District Judge K. Michael Moore imposed the sentenced Thursday on William Potts Jr for the 1984 hijacking of the jet en route from New York to Miami. Potts had pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge.

The US sentence effectively gives Potts credit for 13 years he served in Cuban prison because he would be eligible for release on parole after nearly seven years.