Decision ‘08

Life In Prison for Moussaoui

The jury in Zacarias Moussaoui’s trial on Wednesday recommended that he be sentenced to life in prison in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Moussaoui will be formally sentenced at 10 a.m. ET Thursday.

Moussaoui is the only person charged in this country in the Sept. 11 attacks. The jury previously found Moussaoui eligible for execution after more than 16 hours of deliberations in late March and early April.

Ah, well…I would have loved to see the bastard fry…I really hate to think of him living for ages on the public dime.

Nevertheless, it is what it is…

UPDATE 6:21 p.m.: The good Dr. Shackleford is none too pleased:

Moussaoui deserved death. This is a travesty of justice.

As mentioned above, I completely agree. However, the (very) little confidence I have in modern juries was shattered irretrievably by the O. J. Simpson case…

10 Responses to “Life In Prison for Moussaoui”

1 dmac Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:01 pm
For what it’s worth, most sentences like these end prematurely - Richard Speck died only about halfway into his sentence, and Jeffrey Dahmer was killed by another inmate (although we still have Charlie Manson around). Since he sincerely wanted to die a martyr, then maybe this is the best revenge of all.
2 Donkey Stomp Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Moussaoui Gets Life in Prison

[A]t least he won’t be getting the martyrdom status he was probably hoping for.
3 peter Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Maybe they can give him a cell next to the Unabomber…
4 wom Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:50 pm
I would’ve liked to see death on this issue. Rather than have the taxpayer’s money fund a shelter and food for this guy, death would’ve been more appropriate. He has confessed to the plot numerous times. I’m a religious person so I have my faith in God to punish him after death. I do see why the jurors went the way they did though.
5 dmac Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 4:39 pm
…or Tookie Williams.
6 too many steves Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 5:27 pm
’tis a fair court.
7 carrie Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
Moussaoui was wrong. Today, as a result of the jury’s decision to sentence him to life in prison, America won. The sentence is a triumph of compassion, integrity and restraint over anger, hatred and revenge.

I will not launch into a lengthy dissertation about the death penalty, which I felt ambivalent about for many years and now oppose.

But I will say that this was the right decision for three reasons:

1) It shows that we are a nation of reasoned justice, not mob justice. Executing Moussaoui for failing to step forward with knowledge of the 9/11 plan would have been a revenge killing, intended not to punish him for what he did but to avenge the deaths of nearly 3,000 innocent lives taken in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

2) It prevents us from sliding farther down the slippery slope of giving up civil liberties in exchange for perceived security. Speaking for the moment as a lawyer (I can’t help it), it is worth noting that, had Moussaoui been given the death penalty, it would be the first time in the history of American jurisprudence that someone was executed for an act of omission. Remember, Moussaoui was charged with six counts of conspiracy, and the basis of the government’s recommendation of the death penalty was that had Moussaoui (who was incarcerated on September 11, 2001) stepped forward and told authorities about the plot, the attacks would not have occurred. He would not have been executed for what he did, but what he didn’t do.

3) It shows the world that we cannot be shaken from our core principles, even in the face of danger. In Israel, the day after a suicide bombing, the markets are full of shoppers, the buses are full of riders, and the sidewalk cafes are full of diners. Israelis refuse to allow the risk of terrorism–which happens there every couple of months–to change their way of life. So, too, by adhering to the principles of due process and trial by jury, we have shown the other peoples of the world that we will not be driven to barbarity by the threat of barbarity. Our commitment to our principles should be unwavering.

I hope that the Moussaoui sentence is a bellweather, a sign that we Americans are finally waking up and realizing that, if given the choice, it is better to be more free and less safe than less free and more safe.
8 Mark Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
carrie, thanks for the thoughts…I’d have preferred the death penalty, but you’ve laid out your case that this was the right decision in detail, and we respect that around here…
9 Ryan Bonneville Says:
May 4th, 2006 at 8:33 am
This “living on public expense” argument is more than a little ludicrous. Considering that folks receiving the death penalty cost the public significantly more than those in prison for life, killing him doesn’t save us any money.
10 reverse_vampyr Says:
May 4th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Moussaoui’s Daily Schedule in Supermax

6:00am - Wake up to audio broadcast of The 700 Club
6:30am - Shower and shave (no more scraggly beard)
6:35am - Gang-raped in the shower
7:00am - Breakfast (bacon, sausage)
more…