BREAKING: Moussaoui To Get Life in Prison
It took a while for the court spokesperson to read through the long and complex special verdict form, but here’s the upshot: Zacarias Moussaoui will not be getting the death penalty. Instead, he’ll be spending the rest of his life in prison.
Of course, Moussaoui enduring a lifetime of prison food is probably what would have happened in any event. Even if he had received the death penalty, an inevitable chain of appeals would have ensued. And even if he had tried to waive his appellate rights, perhaps desiring a martyr’s death, there might have been some question as to whether he was competent to make such a waiver. That in turn could have spawned a real clusterfuck of litigation, with Moussaoui and his own lawyers acting at cross-purposes — as they’ve done time and again throughout this case.
Judge Leonie Brinkema will officially pronounce sentence upon Moussaoui tomorrow morning.
Earlier: BREAKING: Moussaoui Verdict Reached
READ MORE: breaking, law, leonie brinkema, terror, terrorism, top, trials, war on terror, zacarias moussaoui
(Scene: Cell Block D, One Year From Now)
Inmate: (conspiratorially) Hey, man, I just want you to know...I really dig what you are about, man.
Moussaoui: (smiling) Even here I can find new disciples! Mua-ha-ha-ha!
Inmate: You're just the best, Hootie.
Moussaoui: Hootie?! I am not Hootie!
Inmate: Not Hootie? (pause) Malvo?
Moussaoui: Gah! Infidels!
(Cue canned Studio Audience Laughter)
by As Seen On TV! on 05/03/06 05:42 PM
(Scene: Cell Block D, Day One)
ZM's Cellmate: OK. You gonna be the husband or the wife?
[ZM stops to think before answering. It will certainly be easier to 'give it' than to 'take it.']
ZM: Alright, I'll be the husband.
ZM's Cellmate: Good. Now get over here and suck your wife's dick!
(Cue canned studio audience laughter)
by American Spectator on 05/03/06 06:29 PM
This is great! Virginia won't be executing an OBVIOUSLY innocent (but totally crazy and completely awful) person. Were this Texas, the result would have probably been very different. Too bad for the Prosecutors that the Federal Jury in Northern Virginia was just too educated for their own good and could see through this sham of a case. I mean, to believe the Prosecution's case, you'd have to believe that this ranting insano who was so unhinged that not even ACTUAL terrorists wanted him around, knew about 9/11 AND that if he happened to confess, that those guards in the jail would have BELIEVED him and then DONE something to warn the Government about it? As IF.
by J. on 05/03/06 06:47 PM
That they didn't elect to kill someone crazy and black is really a sign of progress. That Gov. Kaine victory might be more indicative than we think of a change in the Commonwealth!
by Barnacle on 05/03/06 07:33 PM
Uhm, J., I kinda don't know where to begin with you. Under the law of conspiracy, prosecutors do not have to show any of that stuff... only that he knew of a terrorist plot and provided material support in its furtherance (to boil it down a bit).
And you say the Virginia jury was too educated to believe the case... but they still convicted the man. So, too educated to execute him, but not educated enough to let free an "obviously innocent man," in your words? How you know he is so obviously innocent is beyond me, unless you were in fact on the jury or in the courtroom. In which case, enjoy your book deal.
by Chris on 05/04/06 07:09 AM
Um, Chris, think again. The jury didn't "convict" him. He confessed and pled guilty (because he's OBVIOUSLY insane). There's a difference between offering to plead and the prosecutors needing to PROVE conspiracy. Upon his confession and his plea, the trial proceeded directly to sentencing and the jury couldn't "free" him. Again, had you been actually following the trial, you would have been aware of that. Thanks for the charming little "boiling down" of Crim Law. But you should've taken better notes in Crim Pro.
by J. on 05/04/06 09:58 AM
i think J was refering to the fact that the jury saw how insane it was to ask for the death penalty in a consiracy case. but then again, they did rule that he was eligible for it. so i don't know. but in any case, the guy was nuts, and just pulling stuff out of his ass so that he could get his 40 virgins. my favorite story from the other terrorists is that one big wig gave him his cell phone number, so that he could call in emergencies. unfortunately, the dude started calling in the middle of the night, just to chat, so the big wig guy had to change his phone number.
by konstantConsumer on 05/04/06 10:08 AM
J., I didn't follow the case that closely, but then again I'm not running around making declarations about who was "obviously" guilty or innocent. (though thanks for pointing out that he pled guilty and the trial moved directly to sentencing... I hadn't realized that earlier.)
However, I'm still not quite sure how you're reaching your opinion of "obvious" innocence. The "educated" jury you're praising found no such thing... the jury announced after sentencing that: 1) they found beyond a reasonable doubt that Moussaoui was guilty of conspiracy, 2) they did not doubt his testimony as to his own guilt, 3) they found him capable of telling right from wrong, 4) they believed he was legally sane, but thought that he had an unstable childhood, abusive dad, and had been exposed to racial slurs while a youth in France.
I also don't buy into the idea that this guy was so obviously bat-shit crazy. Sure, he was a whack-job, sure, he was a jihadist, but I'm not willing to adopt a legal definition of insanity that essentially says "if he was gonna do some crazy shit, he must be insane!"
ps: did you learn trial procedure in crim pro? When I took it it was centered mainly on pre-trial Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment jazz.
by Chris on 05/04/06 10:46 AM
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