US hijacker sentenced to 20 years

A former Black Panther who hijacked an airplane in 1984 and diverted it to Cuba has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Miami. William Potts, 57, will be eligible for early release on parole after seven years. US District Judge Michael Moore took into account the 13 years Potts spent in a Cuban jail after he forced the crew of a Piedmont Airlines flight from New York to Miami to change course to Cuba on March 27, 1984. Upon arriving on the communist island, where he hoped to be welcomed as a revolutionary, Potts was jailed. After prison, he began a new life in Havana, where he married and converted to Islam. The former militant Black Panther surrendered to US authorities on his return to the country in November, saying he wanted to reconnect with his two daughters living in the US, according to Sky News.