And I thought that the Hussein trial was taking too long....
After Years of Delay, Jury Selection to Begin Zacarias Moussaoui's Sentencing Trial
Zacarias Moussaoui is shown in this August 2001 photo. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema begins jury selection Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, that is expected to take a month _ an extraordinarily long period but typical in this slow-motion case that has labored through the courts for more than four years. Moussaoui is the only person charged in this country in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks _ the deadliest in U.S. history. Nearly 3,000 Americans died when 19 al-Qaida hijackers crashed four airliners into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. (AP Photo/Sherburne County, Minn., Sheriff's Office, File)
02-06-2006 6:58 AM
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Prospective jurors filed into a heavily guarded federal courtroom Monday to begin the life-or-death phase of Zacarias Moussaoui's terrorist conspiracy trial.
The acknowledged al-Qaida conspirator, often a volatile figure in the courtroom, was hurried by motorcade into the U.S. District Court a few hours before his jury selection started, a trip of several blocks from his cell at an Alexandria jail .
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema was calling the first prospective jurors from a pool of 500 to fill out questionnaires about their attitudes on the death penalty and knowledge of the case. Jury selection is expected to take a month, a painstaking process that sets the stage for deciding whether the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent is imprisoned for life or put to death.
Moussaoui is the only person charged in this country in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He pleaded guilty to six conspiracy counts, admitting he came to the U.S. to join al-Qaida attacks on buildings but denying specific knowledge of the Sept. 11 plot.
Prosecutors contend Moussaoui could have prevented the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, by telling authorities about al-Qaida's designs while he was in a Minnesota jail before Sept. 11. He had aroused suspicion while training to fly Boeing 747 jumbo jets.
Brinkema planned to bring the jury pool into the courtroom in four groups through the day and present 89 questions proposed by prosecutors and 306 recommended by defense attorneys.
When a jury is selected, jurors will be asked to decide first whether Moussaoui's acknowledged actions qualify him for the death penalty and then, if so, whether he deserves it. If either answer is no, he will get life in prison. Once 12 jurors and six alternates are picked for the sentencing trial, opening statements are set for March 6. The trial could last one to three months.
Moussaoui has vowed "to fight every inch against the death penalty." My comment: Whatever happened to the "bring on the virgins" attitude????
Arguing for execution, prosecutors contend Moussaoui could have prevented the Sept. 11 attack by telling investigators what he knew when arrested instead of lying about his intentions. The defense argues that Moussaoui knew less about 9/11 than the government, citing investigations that turned up multiple missed opportunities to possibly prevent the attacks.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers wanted to ask potential jurors about their knowledge and attitude toward Islam. Brinkema allowed such questions in previous terrorism cases.
Prosecutors wanted to know whether potential jurors belonged to veterans groups, the American Civil Liberties Union or the National Rifle Association. Defense attorneys wanted to know their favorite TV shows and what bumper stickers are on their cars.
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