Jury Okays Death Penalty for "20th Hijacker"

Zacarias Moussaoui, the man authorities allege would have one of the terrorist hijackers in the September 11 attacks, was found eligible for the death penalty in a phase of the government's trial against him. Moussaoui had been in custody before the attacks, and the government claimed that he lied in order while being interrogated, thus allowing the attacks to occur. His defense lawyers had claimed he was never a major player in Al-Qaeda scheme, but the defense was even caught off guard when last week Moussaoui claimed he and would-be shoebomber Richard Reid were supposed to fly another plane into a White House, making some wonder if he was just acting crazy. Family members of September 11 victims are reportedly pleased by the verdict thus far, but now the jurors must decide whether or not Moussaoui should actually die (can you imagine being picked for this jury pool?). And in keeping with some of his outbursts, the Daily News points out that Moussaoui yelled, "Never get my blood! God curse you all!"

Check out the 2001 indictment against Moussaoui.

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By Jen Chung in News on April 4, 2006 8:38 AM

Comments [rss]

Jack

Wait. So the guy was going to be a hijacker on a suicide mission to crash airplanes? So he basically had a death wish to begin with. So the death penalty is helping who exactly? If anything it actually makes this scumbag a martyr.

"...should be used for something better, like sending 9/11 victim's children to college."

Yes, all the money conected to 9/11 will be put to good use. The idea that killing this guy will somehow free up money that will then be "propely" used is laughable. The whole funding of 9/11 projects is quite corrupt anyway.

Lock this guy up and just let his fellow inmates shank him.

Samantha T

Joe Apology - I understand that this woman wants to avenge her husband's death. That is actually quite reasonable and I wouldn't judge her for wanting this dude dead for his participation in the whole thing. That said, re-routing money from the penitentiary system to victims' children is the most ridiculous plan I've ever heard. How much it costs to keep somebody alive has nothing to do with whether they should be executed.

There's also the whole argument that what with appeals and all, it's ultimately more expensive to keep somebody on death row for years while his or her appeals are pending.

ed_Extinct

Putting this guy to death will make him an instant hero in the Middle East. He was, allegedly, the "20th hijacker" willing to take his life anyway for martyrdom and so-called victory over the United States. Killing him on our turf is too much mercy. He shold remain in prison, in the gen. pop. (not isolation). Perhaps, one of USA's finest inmates can kill him, for free.

S.D.

"If you're too nuts for Al-Qaeda, you're nuts, pal."

Tim, Smartest thing I've read on the topic yet.

Ignoring the Pro's and Con's of the death penalty: This guy is a nut job that just wants to go down in a big way.

IMO: The more attention he gets, the bigger he feels.

Tim N.

Wait, wait... there. Moussaoui just confessed to the Lindbergh kidnapping.

Here's the thing about Moussaoui. If you're too nuts for Al-Qaeda, you're nuts, pal. This is a guy who, if he is to be believed, wanted in on the eleventh as was told to go home, junior. Only sane crazies need apply.

Now, apparently, he's also responsible for the Green River Murders.

I can't escape the thought that the government needs to fry somebody for the eleventh, and this guy will do. They've changed charges on him, they don't really believe he was in on the eleventh planning, and yeah, failure to tip off the police to a heinous act is a heinous crime, but its not like he held the keys to the plot in his hands. Could Moussaoui have taken actions to stop the attacks? Definitely. But then again, so could some guys in the upper echelons of the FBI. Is he a criminal? Absolutely. Is he a terrorist? Definitely. Should we give in to his wishes and martyr him? I'm not sure.

CNN is reporting that Moussaoui has confessed to the Black Dahlia Murder.

There's a visceral level of satisfaction there, but I'm not sure how honest it is. Cops run into these guys all the time. You have to hit them to shut them up. They want in on every big crime as a way of asserting their own (minimal) importance.

Which reminds me, apparently Moussaoui was the brains behind the Luftunsa heist.

Peter

dude is obviously trying to get a death penalty. who wants to kick it on death row for the rest of your life, gettin butt-raped? this whole case is completely outlandish - totally unjustified - just a total fabrication on every part by the government. the most this dude should be lookin at is a few years in the clink and then a one-way ticket out of the country. this whole prosecution case of "well, your dad is brown, and he had sex with your mom, and she had you, so your dad is obviously a terrorist"-stuff has reached far beyond absurdity. it's actually not cool that we all just stand by and watch this calamity unfold - not cool at all. these criminal prosecutors have proven their ability and willingness to break as many laws as necessary to get a death penalty conviction, here - they should all be disbarred and jailed, themselves.

it's a travesty, a sham, a mockery, a travishamockery.

and Padilla doesn't even get a trial. i mean, _that_ is some scary stuff. U.S. citizen - _no_ _trial_. even Lincoln let his victims have a military tribunal trial, at least, and he didn't torture them. man.

Joe Apology

There was an interesting interview on CNN this morning about this. It was with one of the 9/11 victim's family members (I believe it was the wife of a pilot). She made the point that he should be put to death because the cost of keeping him in prison for life (~$16K/year?), should be used for something better, like sending 9/11 victim's children to college.