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| Some jurors viewed Moussaoui as having a minor role in 9/11 |
| 2006-05-05 |
| September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison rather than execution because some jurors saw him as a minor player in the plot, a juror told The Washington Post reported on Thursday. The juror described Moussaoui as a "despicable character" but said he believed Moussaoui embellished his role in the plot. "He wasn't necessarily part of the 9/11 operation," the juror told the Post. "His role in 9/11 was actually minor." Moussaoui, an admitted al Qaeda member and the only person convicted in a U.S. court for the September 11 attacks, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with no possibility of release. He pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy in connection with the deadly hijackings. The juror told the Post he was one of three people on the panel who wrote a "mitigating factor" on the verdict form, saying that Moussaoui, 37, had "limited knowledge" of the September 11 plot. "He may have been part of a parallel operation, a second wave of attacks but he wasn't anywhere close to flying a plane on 9/11," the juror said. He also told the newspaper that a number of jurors questioned whether "the death penalty is really an appropriate punishment for lying." The newspaper said the man spoke anonymously because he did not want to be harassed if his name were revealed. Members of the jury were deeply moved by testimony from victims' family members but believed they had to put aside their emotions and disgust for Moussaoui and "focus on the law," the juror was quote as saying. He would not divulge the jury's final vote, the Post said. The juror told the Post that the hardest parts of the two-month trial were his nightmares about Moussaoui and testimony from the relatives of September 11 victims. "It was very difficult to hear. It was like attending one funeral after another for days on end," he said. "But we had to move beyond our own emotions and really focus on the law." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 We just have too many stupid fools. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-05-05 02:46 |
| #1 The wrong "miners" getting buried |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-05-05 02:00 |