Florida ? The man government officials once accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty” bomb on U.S. soil was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and 4 months behind bars for his role in a South Florida terror support cell, a far lighter punishment than the life term federal prosecutors had sought.

Jose Padilla’s sentencing in Miami federal court brings some closure to the extraordinary saga that placed the former Broward County resident at the center of a national debate about the rights of U.S. citizens accused of terrorism.

In rejecting prosecutors’ demands for a much longer sentence, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke took into account Padilla’s controversial 3 1/2-year detention in a U.S. Navy brig based on the unproven “dirty bomb” allegations. She called his treatment harsh and contrary to U.S. prison standards.

Padilla’s recruiter Adham Hassoun, a former Sunrise, Fla., computer programmer, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months. Co-defendant Kifah Jayyousi, a Navy veteran who held high posts in the Washington D.C. and Detroit public school systems, received 12 years and eight months.

Padilla, 37, Hassoun, 45; and Jayyousi, 46 were convicted Aug. 16 of taking part in a network that sent funds, supplies and recruits to support Islamic fighters overseas.