Poll: Moussaoui - Execution or Life without Parole?

[13]

From http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/24/mo....ap/index.html

Defense: Don't make 9/11 plotter a martyr
U.S. 'No place on this good Earth for Zacarias Moussaoui'

Monday, April 24, 2006; Posted: 12:22 p.m. EDT (16:22 GMT)

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) -- Zacarias Moussaoui's lawyer pleaded with jurors Monday to send his client to prison for life -- "the long slow death of a common criminal" -- rather than give him the martyrdom he seeks through execution.

The prosecution argued for a death sentence for the September 11 conspirator because "there is no place on this good Earth" for him.

Both sides gave their final points before deliberations were to begin by a jury that has already decided that the only person charged in this country in the September 11, 2001, attacks was responsible for death that day.

The question to be decided now: whether Moussaoui dies for the crime or spends life in prison. The judge will be bound to hand down the sentence chosen by the jury.

Prosecutor David Raskin urged the jurors to reject defense arguments that Moussaoui is mentally ill and to brush off any hesitation that they would be giving him what he wants by deciding on execution.

"He wants you to think Osama bin Laden will be mad at us," Raskin said. "Do you think Osama bin Laden gives a damn about what happens here? ... That is a joke."

U.S.: End the hate

Raskin said: "It is time to put an end to all this. It is time to put an end to his hatred and venom."

The prosecutor pointed out how Moussaoui mocked the testimony of September 11 victims and their families throughout the trial. "The defendant rejoices in all that pain," he said. "He told you that himself."

Raskin went on: "He loved it because he was responsible for it. He loved it because it meant to him, mission accomplished."

Defense lawyer Gerald Zerkin said Moussaoui's contempt for the victims and the trial "is proof that he wants you to sentence him to death. He is baiting you into it. He came to America to die in jihad and you are his last chance." Moussaoui, 37, did not cooperate with his lawyers.

Zerkin said the jury can instead "confine him to a miserable existence until he dies and give him not the death of a jihadist ... but the long slow death of a common criminal."
Defense: Moussaoui was inept

Zerkin also asked jurors to keep an eye on history, noting that even in the Nuremberg trials after World War II, only 11 death sentences were handed out for "the worst atrocities in the history of man."

He said Moussaoui is "a veritable caricature of an al Qaeda terrorist" and "the only al Qaeda operative inept enough to be captured before 9/11."

"This is about history, it is about how our justice system responded to the worst terrorist attack on our soil," Zerkin said.

Moussaoui said during a brief recess, "Never get me, America." He has generally sat impassively but at times will nod in agreement when lawyers comment on his lack of remorse.

The defense had presented evidence of Moussaoui's shattering treatment as a child born in France of Moroccan descent, of his father's and uncle's violence in his home and of mental illness rampant in his family.

Raskin said none of that excused his conduct. "What could possibly mitigate all of this? Did you hear anything that even remotely counterbalances all the aggravating evidence?"

Specifically, Raskin rejected the defense argument that Moussaoui is a schizophrenic.

"Just because we can't comprehend this kind of evil, doesn't mean he suffers a mental illness. We will never understand evil like this," Raskin said.

Although Moussaoui was in jail on September 11, the jury ruled that lies he told federal agents when he was arrested in August 2001 on immigration violations allowed the plot to go forward.
Sorrow to rage

Prosecutors presented testimony from dozens of victim-impact witnesses whose accounts often left jurors in tears. Emotions switched from sorrow to rage when prosecutors cross-examined Moussaoui, who mocked the victims' testimony and took glee in the September 11 aftermath.

Moussaoui had previously taken the stand and stunned the courtroom by claiming he was to have piloted a fifth plane on September 11, after years of denying a role in the attacks.

Defense lawyers sought to blunt the victim-impact testimony by putting a dozen September 11 family members on the stand in support of their case. The witnesses were barred from explicitly saying they favored life in prison, but got their point across by saying that they do not seek vengeance.

Much of the testimony also revolved around Moussaoui's mental health. Experts hired by the defense diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic who suffers delusions, including his firmly held belief that President Bush will free him from prison.

Government-appointed experts say Moussaoui is not mentally ill and attribute his beliefs about Bush to religious zealotry.

Even if the jury believes Moussaoui is schizophrenic, it can still decide he should be executed. In many trials, proof of mental illness is a determining factor in what happens to a defendant, but in this case it is just one of many factors for the jury to weigh.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Steven S. Dallas]

None of us were on the jury, and there's no doubt that he was an al-Qaeda operative, but it sure doesn't look as though he had much to do with 9/11 short of sketchy knowledge and wanting in. This CIA transcript of statements by the Al-Qaeda ops chief seems to bear that out. So no, I don't think so.

[Pow4Brains]

Killing him would allow him to fulfill his goal and enter in to his version of “bliss.” Let em’ rot and feed um’ swine for every meal.

[mooseknuckle]

Gen Pop...subject him to ass rapings for the rest of his mortal life.

I am generally not in favor of the death penalty.

[PNWbrit]

Creating a martyr would be a very bad idea.... better to let him rot the rest of his life in solitary confinement.

I am also very dubious about the charges and exactly how involved he was in 9/11 planning. If he hadn't been in custody before 9/11 he'd likely never have stood trial but instead now be in a CIA prison or at Gismo - which I find very troubling.

[Tippster]

Killing him would be giving him what he wants, and Al Qaeda a martyr. Dumbest thing they could do....







......so of course it will happen.

[Viva]

I don't like the death penalty. I tend to overlook it in cases where children have been deliberately hurt, but otherwise I don't feel it has a place in our society. To condone such punishment puts us on the level of the fundamentalists.

Now, if the Gov. really wants the guy dead, just put him in with the general prison population. He wouldn't last very long. The cons would make short order out of him.

[summit]

Killing him would be giving him what he wants, and Al Qaeda a martyr. Dumbest thing they could do....

Exactly. Life without possibility of parole GENERAL POPULATION (and bubba for a cell mate).

[bklyn]

Life in prison.
Let's get someone who was really guilty vs a nut who might have been benched before he was caught. I'd like to see OBL stand trial - I'd be hard pressed not to want the death penalty for him.

[El Chupacabra]

What about the cost of keeping him imprisoned for the rest of his life?

Generally I'm against the death penalty (what if there's a mistake and the government executes an innocent person?), but in this instance, with multiple confessions in open court....

[PNWbrit]

Let's get someone who was really guilty vs a nut who might have been benched before he was caught. I'd like to see OBL stand trial - I'd be hard pressed not to want the death penalty for him.

Which poses the question what would happen if they ever do stumble across OBL? Would we ever know about it? Would he stand trial? Would it win the war on terror? Be just one battle won? Or the creation of Martyr to further inflame Muslim extremism?

[MassLiberal]

I'm pretty sure that he would die before he ever fell into US custody. There was a sixty minutes piece on the guy who had that exact job for a while.

[yentna]

I'd be too concerned about the potential for martyrdom....kill him for a sketchy relationship to 9/11 and he becomes a hero.

Life in prison, alone and hated, is a much better punishment. Not that I want to see our taxes wasted to pay for his upkeep, but it's better than the alternative. IMHO.

[Rontele]

If he is sentenced to life in prison, he will be sent to the Florence, CO Supermax. The Gen Pop there includes the Unibomber, Ramzi Yousef, and every other extremely high risk inmate in the federal system. The problem is that their existance there is very controlled, near solitary confinement, so the amount of ass rapings would be limited. That is too bad.

Do not kill the guy, do not give him what he wants, do not make him a martyr.

[cj001f]

What about the cost of keeping him imprisoned for the rest of his life?

The value Al Qaeda would get out of his execution makes that a small price to play.

Let him rot.

edit: hmm, another good end game. Jury convicts, W immediately pardons to show a merciful US. That'll never happen though.

[P_McPoser]

Rebar in the eye.

[Tippster]

What about the cost of keeping him imprisoned for the rest of his life?

Generally I'm against the death penalty (what if there's a mistake and the government executes an innocent person?), but in this instance, with multiple confessions in open court....

Honestly I'd rather we pony up the roughly $80k/annum it'll cost to keep him in jail than making him the poster child for 9/11 v2.0.

I wouldn't let genPop kill him either - that's just the same end result. Keep his ass in Solitary "for his safety." That way the Cruel and Unusual argument stays out of it. Remember Rudolf Hess? He wasn't Hitler, but he did the time.

[Lurch]

It bothers me that we are twisting our own laws to kill this guy. I also think it would set a very scary precedent that would greatly expand the number of people in this country that qualify for the death penalty every year.

[P_McPoser]

Besides, isn't Life in prison cheaper than execution anyways?

[Lurch]

Besides, isn't Life in prison cheaper than execution anyways?

I've heard that stated a few times.

[skea 457]

It does seem odd that they even brought him to trial instead of letting him rot in Guantanamo like the hundreds of other suspects. There is too much hate in the US to allow him to live. I think this is pretty much a show trial and his fate is already sealed.

[Art Shirk]

Yep, leave the guy in the clinker for the rest of his life. Death is likely what he is seeking anyway. Not to mention, Billy Bob, Axel and Dwayne will probably end up killing him one way or another while in the can.

HOWEVER, this is a subjective avenue in a sometimes objective forum. While the jury is free to decide as they see fit, their decisions are often dictated by the usual set of aggravating factors and circumstances. Thus, look out for this guy to be killed by the state.

[Tippster]

It does seem odd that they even brought him to trial instead of letting him rot in Guantanamo like the hundreds of other suspects. There is too much hate in the US to allow him to live. I think this is pretty much a show trial and his fate is already sealed.

You know, despite the world's common misperception - we don't actually kill everyone eligible for the Death Penalty.

The families of the victims testifying against the Death Penalty in this case will be the turning point, methinks.

[cloudpeak]

The guy admitted he was a member of Al Qaida, but the trial didn't really establish that he had responsibility for 9/11.

Life in prison.

[Theodore]

Prison, let em get raped, ruin his chances for a gazillion virgins and then shank his ass. I don't wan't my tax dollars extending that fucks life any longer than it needs to be.