ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal jury rejected the death penalty for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday and decided he must spend life in prison for his role in the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
After seven days of deliberation, the nine men and three women rebuffed the government’s appeal for death for the only person charged in this country in the four suicide jetliner hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.
The verdict came after four years of legal maneuvering and a six-week trial that put jurors on an emotional roller coaster and gave the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent a platform to taunt Americans. The judge was to hand down the life sentence Thursday morning, bound by the jury’s verdict.
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
he was not directly involved i guess.i frankly think he should have gotten death for destroying so many lives and so many dreams including mine as I can't go back to america now.sob.
as he left the court room he said,"america you lost".
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
He said " "America you lost", I won" as he was taken from the courtroom.
Moussaoui is an interesting characvter, his belief was that his death was a reward thus in the end justice is served by keeping him alive, no virgins for him. Who knows, maybe he'll find the lord while in prison.
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
It was Moussaoui's own evidence that transformed this case.
He stunned the court and his lawyers when he claimed in late March he was to have been part of the 9/11 attacks.
He said he was planning to fly a fifth plane into the White House - contradicting earlier statements denying his involvement.
*Moussaoui's own erratic outbursts in court were accompanied by disputable claims. *
He said that Richard Reid, the British shoe bomber, was to act as his accomplice in hijacking a fifth plane - but there is no evidence of that. Reid wasn't even in the US at the time.
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
Moussaoui seems abit mental. His messed up childhood seems more of an explanation of his behaviour, but at the time of the 11/9 attacks he was in prison already, so he dint have much to do with the attacks directly.
The funny thing is that jury found him NOT GUILTY of death of 3000 people but found him GUILTY of causing maiming, disfigurment and permanent disability of those who survived.
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
23 hours lock down a day with 1 hour allowed outside by himself.
24 hours a day alone, what a life.
Moussaoui curses America, judge gets final word
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Zacarias Moussaoui blasted the United States one last time, minutes before he was was formally sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for his role in 9/11.
"God curse America. God bless and save Osama bin Laden -- you will never get him," he told a packed federal courtroom that included family members of people killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"You think you rule the world -- you are wrong. I will prove it," he said of the U.S. "You don't want to hear it. We will come back again ... You will feel it."
**U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema responded, "You will die with a whimper," never allowed to speak publicly again.**
She then followed the decision of the jury and ordered the al Qaeda terrorist to spend the rest of his natural life in prison
[http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/04/moussaoui.verdict/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/04/moussaoui.verdict/index.html)
Re: al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui avoids death, sentence to life in prison
^^
The jury needs to be appreciated for the decision. Personally I believe the nut case deserves a stint in the mental hospital and not in prison. Poor guy was in prison at the time of 911 and still the idiot claims that he was planning to drive a fifth plane.