Ailing Former Civil Right Attorney Returns To NYC After Being Freed

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A dying former civil rights lawyer convicted in a terrorism case who was released early from prison has arrived in New York City.

Lynne Stewart's attorney says the 74-year-old woman landed Wednesday afternoon at LaGuardia Airport, where she was greeted by a small group of supporters and family.

Stewart was released from Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday night. A judge ordered her release after prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Prisons recommended she be set free because she has less than 18 months to live. She suffers from recurrent stage-four breast cancer.

Stewart has been imprisoned since 2009 after she was convicted of helping a blind Egyptian sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman, communicate with his followers from prison.

Abdel-Rahman was convicted in 1996 of plotting to bomb a number of landmarks in New York City. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutors say Stewart will live with her son in Brooklyn.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)