Well. Color me: Disappointed, but not entirely surprised.
That ol’ debbil Zacharais Moussaoui gave the hangman the slip yesterday, as a “jury of his peers” determined that, gosh, hadn’t childhood been hard on him, and all? Abusive father, you know. Racial epithets – in French no less! – and we all know how wounding it can be to have someone call you names. Especially in French.
Conspire in the murder of 2700 innocents, and later say – in front of a jury – that your only wish is that it might have been more, and get a pass. Supper’s on us, breakfast too and did I mention dinner? No, no, put it away. I insist. Forever.
If Moussaoui didn’t deserve to die for his crime – remember, he was in custody, knew of the 9/11 plot and could have stopped it, in fact actively lied to the FBI to prevent its discovery – then no one does. And if no one does, we ought to change the law and have done with it.
But forgive me, gentle reader, I believe that certain people do deserve to die for particularly heinous, premeditated crimes. And the law as currently written says that we have the collective right to say, “Enough!Too much! We recognize you now: You are a beast in a man suit, and we exile you from our company. By these inhuman acts you have foreited your ‘humanity’ privileges.”
But (insert obligatory nod to due process in particular and the judicial system in general here) we seem to have lost our moral compass at best, or our nerve at worst. A man can gleefully boast of his conspiracy to kill thousands of us, and we look for reasons to just… put him away. Out of sight – see? All gone.
Right and wrong become not absolutes, nor even discernable shades of gray, but just a different way of looking at things. Some people think it’s a good thing to kill innocents in their thousands and set that as a goal – and who are we to judge? Different strokes, etc. Shame if it happens to someone you know.
Pah.
If this result reflects who we truly are as a people, then we are no longer slouching towards Gomorrah, to use Robert Bork’s words – we’re headed there in a dead sprint. Is anyone really surprised anymore that in the 21st Century it should be possible to find a juror – you only need one – so stubbornly muddleheaded as to say, well, yes he could have stopped it, and yes he knew the difference between right and wrong, but he is kind of loopy (unlike your run-of-the-mill, garden variety, seen-one-seen-’em-all mass murdering terrorist). And even then there’s something in what he says you know: We haven’t always been perfect neighbors and then there’s that nasty upbringing. It was almost inevitable really. All children with hard backgrounds, who’ve been cursed at in French will inevitably try to kill a few thousand Americans, and get the chance to crow about it later. Chickens come home to roost, really.
This is much less an act of mercy than it is an unwillingness to unflinchingly face evil and give it a name.
And then some of us will say, “This will show the world the difference between us and them: We have mercy.” Because the difference between us and them apparently wasn’t at all clear, heretofore. And it’s wonderfully naive, so very “Miracle on 34th Street” to think that any minds may now be changed in darker corners of Islamist thought by this gesture of mercy. No, they are much more Cesar Romero than George Seaton over there, and somewhere in Ramadi a bomb maker looks up from his workbench to see ol’ Zach boasting that “America loses” on Al Jazeera, and that the knucklehead gets to spend the rest of his natural as a federal ward rather than take a needle for the team. He mutters something about god working in mysterious ways, screws his monocle back in and lowers his head back to his circuit board.
So. Done is done, and not much use to fume about it after, except, I suppose, as a kind of catharsis. If any one asks me where he should go though, I’ll only point out that Jeffrey Dahmer’s cell is, I think, still open. See you in the yard.
I think this is the best solution. Had we executed him, he would have gone to his reward and enjoy intimacy with seventy two virgins in Paradise.
The way it is now, he’s not going to Paradise. He will still be intimate with seventy two of his fellow guests, but unfortunately for him, they will not be virgins – and soon, neither will he.
“This is much less an act of mercy than it is an unwillingness to unflinchingly face evil and give it a name.”
That’s the polite way to put it. And as you say, done is done–the jury has spoken.
Must be an urban thing, this ’stubborn muddleheadedness’, this unwillingness to see. Back in another time, denial of evil used to be called “cowardice in the face of the enemy”. Say baa, good urban sheeple. Thanks to you, the wolves will be back for more feasting.
Out West, the Commanche would have not have wrung their hands. Just staked him out over an anthill, and rode away…
The defendant had the benefit of counsel that few in our society could afford – the “cream” of our school of law. Unfortunately, jurors are selected through voir dire, no qualifications needed – an entry level position. Is it any wonder that 1-2 are swayed, and as you pointed out, only 1 is needed. It’s time to scrap the unanimous verdict aspect of our jury system.
This jury spared a life, but sentenced the rest of us to a lifetime of fear and anticipation of the dropping of the other shoe.
Following this trial, it seems apparent to me that Moussaoui wanted to be sentenced to death, thereby giving him the same martyrdom status as his cohorts. This way he’ll be locked up and forgotton about, which to him is worse than death.
His mom is unhappy that he’ll sit and rot in jail.
That, more than anything, convinces me that the jury made the right choice.
I’ve been praying and hoping that he’d be sentenced to death. I wanted his execution public – a fee to attend paid to a 9/11 charity for the families and survivors.
But…I also think rotting away in a federal prison, locked away from the world for the rest of his life, is OK as well. As long as the MSM isn’t allowed to give him a voice (no jailhouse interviews a la McVeigh), no books. Just fade away into obscurity. No martyrdom for him – no virgins, no Allah.
In truth, there isn’t enough punishment for what he was prepared to do, for what he trained to do. I only hope when he does get to the other side – the victims of 9/11 will be waiting for him. Divine retribution and eternal damnation is what awaits him.
In Memory of Heather Lee Smith, Flight 11
I actually think that solitary in a supermax with one hour of sunlight a day is a harsher punishment than death. That is why I am happy his life was “spared.”
In honor of Lt. Ronald Winchester, USNA 01′
Great analysis of the verdict Lex, with all the evident “irony” highlighted. Thanks for the great writing.
Personally, even though I would have preferred death, I could live with the sentence if it was to a prison like in “Midnight Express” and he was assigned to the hog butchering detail….
b2
Note to all: Re “rotting away”..it just doesn’t happen that way. Federal prisons, and even most state prisons, are very protective of their high-profile inmates; and we can’t forget the “watch-dog” groups who insure that the conditions in which inmates live is less harsh than that of flight deck crewmen on our aircraft carriers.
What will happen is that our society will support and nurture this guy for the rest of his days, which I pray will be short.
I have convicted three killers who now reside on death row, and I will be dead before they are executed. I have been to the prisons and the inmates manage to adapt quite well. Does anyone remember Tookie Williams who was nominated for the Nobel Prize before his execution?
The “hell” of being locked away assumes that definition because you are rational people with rational values; hardly the case with this guy.
I had two problems with the premise that Zacharias Moussaoui deserved death. The one, he didn’t tell what he knew in time. I don’t think an act of omission, even at this level deserves death.
Secondly, he wanted death and martyrdom. Better to put him away and forget about him.
That he is personally despicable thoroughly agree.
Bomber – I know that “conditions” in prisons can rival what we in the free world have to pay for with our own money.
Rather, I like the idea that he will fade away into nothing – like I said above, as long as the MSM doesn’t give him a voice. Because of what he did and what he lied about, his name will be remembered forever. Let the man be forgotten.
Death is the only suitable rejoinder in my opinion. I reject the Martyr argument. Martyrs are being created daily in Iraq and other hotspots. What’s one more? Better yet to send the message and provide a fitting response for his actions.
Don’t put him in solitary, just put him in the general population , say at San Quintin, for a while and have the guards look outside for a bit. He’ll be dead in a week. Not as martyr but as a criminal. All things considered that’s about the best one can ask for.
I’m with Eric and William on this one. He most definitely tried to act outrageous enough that the jury would sentence him to death.
And I think whether or not he is “made a martyr” matters because he has international attention–he’s not just another anonymous terrorist in Iraq. He and his fellow terrorists are denied the glory of him dying anything other than an ignominious natural death.
It is never discusssed, but it is my understanding that if you get in trouble with the IRS and challenge it in court, you go before a court whose jury members are not ‘a jury of your peers’, like Moussaoui’s, but a jury of experts. No one ever makes the connection between the fact that a Lawyer’s ‘product’ i.e. the ability to get his client off, and the embarrasing fact that Judges (who are lawyers) make it easier and easier for their buddies to do so.
So when it really matters – getting the tax money to pay the judges and conduct the show trials, etc. – the juries are composed of experts. But when the goal is to merely make the big bucks while dispensing ‘justice’ to the proles, we the proles, are stuck with what we just observed. It is not a stretch to believe that the secret to America’s entrepreneurial spirit is the belief that with enough money, you can get Lawyers to ‘fix’ anything. This was demonstrated in O.J.’s show trial and again in Moussaoui’s recent show trial.
None of you mention the fact that one U.S. captive who DID have something to do with 9/11 (unlike Moussaoui) will never go on trial. I’m talking about Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who helped plan the damn thing. Not you’ll never see him in court. That’s because if he went on trial, he’d testify about how much he was tortured by the same “justice”-seeking tough guys you approve of. No, the U.S. will never let its dirty secrets out in court. So a guy who did do it will never get the fair trial the U.S. supposedly stands for.
And have any of you ever been in prison, like the person who says conditions there are comparable to what people in free society would pay for? I used to work in state prisons in Florida before I emigrated to Australia last December. (I’m a nurse, so I could get a work visa for over here and escape the U.S. before the impending economic implosion.) They’re hell on earth. No aircon in the Florida humidity, food that I wouldn’t even bring home to feed my dog (even at nursing homes I could always find some scrap to treat him to) screaming noise all the time, endless boredom, no TV, always in the company of the worst thugs you can imagine… If you want Moussaoui to suffer, keeping him in prison is the best way to do it. Too bad it can’t satisfy your twisted desires for revenge.
But hey mates, good luck with what’s coming. May you get what you truly deserve! Glad I’ll be watching it from this side of the planet…
“No aircon in the Florida humidity, food that I wouldn?
“No aircon in the Florida humidity, food that I wouldn’t even bring home to feed my dog (even at nursing homes I could always find some scrap to treat him to) screaming noise all the time, endless boredom, no TV, always in the company of the worst thugs you can imagine…”
Sounds like my cruise on Independence back in ‘95.
Moussaoui’s trial shows the limitations of fighting a war like a criminal case. KSM will probably never see the inside of a courtroom until the war is over, just like enemy combatants throughout history. Your imputing bad faith and worse conduct on those who hold him doesn’t make it so, except for in your fevered imagination.
As for the rest of it “Bukko,” based on what you’ve written here, we’re well shot of you. Too bad you snuck in on the Aussies, though. I’ve always liked them. And if the US does “implode” economically – nothing against nurses, but I’d like a second opinion – good luck escaping the impacts down in Oz. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
Bukko – since you chose to misquote me, I’ll provide the clarification you clearly need. What I said was “…?
Bukko – since you chose to misquote me, I’ll provide the clarification you clearly need. What I said was “…“conditions” in prisons can rival what we in the free world have to pay for with our own money.” It was also a direct response to a previous post, to clarify my own position (not that I have to explain that to you). For some people, having access to a television and 3 square meals a day is MORE than they can afford. That is a whole nother subject of course, but in the context of this discussion, it’s what I meant.
I don’t really care that prison can be “hell on earth” – it’s not supposed to be a picnic. If you are in prison, you’ve done something bad and illegal, period. I don’t care about the quality of the food, lack of air conditioning, etc…these are criminals, not kindergartners.
Bukko, you say “…your twisted desires for revenge…”. When you can tell me you lost someone you loved on 9/11, THEN you can talk about the type of revenge we want. Until then, don’t comment. And in case you are wondering, I DID lose someone on 9/11, a young beautiful young woman who was supposed to get married in 2002 and have a life. So when you characterize my desire for justice as “twisted…revenge…” then know what my perspective is before you judge me, or anyone else for that matter.
My only regret about Moussaoui’s punishment is that he’ll be in a SuperMax facility, where he’ll be totally isolated from “the worst thugs you can imagine”.
Bukko, you say “…good luck with what’s coming. May you get what you truly deserve…” Oh we will, believe me, and not what you obviously think it will be.
You say you emigrated to Australia – hope the door slammed you on the way out.
Isn’t “Life” a little heavy for a “bit player”? C’mon they just didn’t have the guts to do the right thing. BTW Bukko, it’s called Justice. Nice writing (and commenting) Lex.
First off Lex, I’d just like to say that I found your blog a few weeks ago and I think what you’ve got here is great.
I have to agree with Eric and Babs on this one. He wanted death and to be immortalized as a martyr. His outrageous statements could only have been because he wanted to be killed, in what he had hoped would prove how evil we supposedly are. In some cases life in prison is worse than death, and I think the jury made the right decision this time.
As much as this guy deserves more punishment than there is any way to give, I think the jury got it right. Outside the UCMJ there is not in the US a legal duty to report crimes. One of the prosecution’s main arguements for why he merited execution was that he had not reported what he knew.
If we are going to change the law so that there is a legal duty to report crimes, then I think that the change ought to be made in the legislature and not by an activist prosecutor/jury. Painful as it may be in this case, I think the result is what the rule of law demanded. The slope is slippery. It’s best that we didn’t start down it.