Zacarias Moussaoui, the first man to be indicted on charges involving the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring with Osama bin Laden to kill thousands of people. The trial was set to open on Oct. 14. Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, said in a statement to the court: "In the name of Allah I do not have anything to plead. I enter no plea." But U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema said she understood that to be a plea of not guilty and Moussaoui's defense attorney Frank Dunham said, "Yes."
October? Ten months from now? What the hell happened to the right to a speedy trial? And how does "I enter no plea" transform into a "not guilty"? Sounds at best Alford-ish, if not "ya got the goods on me, coppers." |