Moussaoui Gets Life
Posted on Wed May 03, 2006 at 06:04:38 PM EST
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Bump and Update: (TL) I just got to my destination. When the driver turned on the radio in the car leaving the airport, I asked about Moussaoui. He told me the jury came back with life and I shouted "Yes!" and threw my arm up in the air. I proceeded to tell him for the next 20 minutes how proud I was of the defense team in this case and what they had to work against -- not only the investment of the country in a death verdict to retaliate against someone for 9/11 -- but their own client who hated them and not only wouldn't assist them, but tried to sabotage them at every turn. Their dedication and professionalism is astounding. I've read every public filing in the case and they did such an incredible job for this crazy, bumbling holy warrior.
I then launched into a lecture about what was facing Moussaoui when he got to Supermax in Florence, where he will spend the rest of his days. Then we listened to the news and I heard that Moussaoui's words after the verdict were something like "America Lost, I Won" and I said to the driver, "He'll eat those words when he gets to Florence." It's not called Alcatraz of the Rockies for nothing. Without lawyers visiting him and sending him pleadings to read, and with virtually no human contact, lights shining on 24/7 as his every move in his tiny, windowless cell is monitored (at least for the first few months), he'll realize he got the short end of the stick pretty quickly.
Had he only cooperated with his lawyers, and not insisted on pleading guilty, perhaps his trial could have been about whether he was a co-conspirator in 9/11 and therefore legally responsible for it. Al Qaeda abandoned him years ago, he doesn't even have them any more. And any hope of martyrdom went down the drain with the life verdict. He will become a footnote in the history of 9/11.
One more thought. This is not a victory for America. Moussaoui had no role in 9/11. Cheering on al Qaeda and hoping they succeed -- and celebrating when they did -- does not make one a co-conspirator.
The scorecard remains: Al Qaeda: 3,000 killed on 9/11. Number of responsible persons brought to justice: None.
Where is Osama? Bush still can't find him.
Analysis of verdict is here. . The jury verdict listing their votes on aggravating and mitigating factors is here (pdf.)
Update:(TL) The verdict form is here (pdf). Interstingly, the martyr argument didn't sway them. 9 jurors found his difficult childhood and abusive father to be a mitigating factor. One juror came up with an additional mitigating factor -- he had minimal knowledge of 9/11.
The defense pointed out after the verdict that one of the reasons for the life verdict may have been their decision to call relatives of victims as defense witnesses. By calling those who did not want the death penalty, even though they couldn't say as much to the jury, their inferences were clear, and jurors may have felt they had "permission" to sentence to life.
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Original Post:
by TChris
Zacarias Moussaoui may have hoped to die a martyr's death, but his jury handed him a different fate: life in prison.
On the seventh day of deliberation, the jury of nine men and three women informed Judge Leonie Brinkema that it had reached a decision.
After four years of preparation and a six week trial, the government (with Moussaoui's help) managed to convict Moussaoui, but failed to convince the jury that he should be executed. This is an extraordinary result by dedicated defense lawyers who were challenged by their client as much as (perhaps more than) the government.
TalkLeft's Moussaoui coverage is collected here.
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