The Observer, April 28, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 26
Free Speech Zone: Death penalty not the answer
At this very moment, Zacarias Moussaoui is sitting in a prison cell in Alexandria, VA awaiting his fate after pleading guilty to six counts of conspiracy. Moussaoui's case is rather unprecedented in that the United States has captured an "enemy agent" on American soil. In past conflicts, such agents were executed without much consideration or deliberation. However, Moussaoui is different in that he was not acting under the orders of any government or in the interests of some foreign country. What exactly he "did" or "did not" do is still ambiguous. According to the Associated Press (AP), he definitely had information about the 9/11 plot which he withheld from investigators when he was arrested in Minnesota in August of 2001 for suspicious activity at a flight training school. For his part, Moussaoui claims that he was to fly a plane into the White House with suspected "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, though this claim is tenuous at best. In any case, Moussaoui will likely be on death row soon and executed in a matter of years. While I'd like to think that the United States is smarter than to execute people who probably shouldn't be, due to mental illness for example, we aren't.
The prosecution in Moussaoui's case sure has shown no hesitation in vehemently pushing for the death penalty. Funny how a trial for a man arrested in Minnesota for connection to a crime committed in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. ends up on trial in Virginia, the state which is second only to Texas in death penalty convictions. The prosecution has shown its aptitude for shamelessness in a move designed to evoke an emotional bias. They bombarded the jury with audio recordings from the Twin Towers and Flight 93, graphic images of burned corpses, and even had Rudy Guiliani describe his experiences on 9/11. This was done in opposition to a large number of families of the victims of the attacks. Taking a page from the book of George W. Bush, the lead prosecutor, David Raskin, believes that Moussaoui's lack of remorse results from the fact that he is "evil." Raskin has repeatedly demanded for the death penalty because "it is time to put an end to his hatred and venom." Anyone else see the contradiction here?
What Moussaoui himself thinks of the trial may never be known, although he seems to be enjoying the attention. He has used the media covering this case as a platform for overstating his role in the 9/11 attacks and to proclaim himself a martyr. Throughout the trial process, Moussaoui has said little except for the occasional outburst of some kind of anti-American statement. In fact, he has refused to comply with defense lawyers and is clearly trying to be as shocking and unremorseful as possible. It should be obvious: he wants to die. Nothing would make him happier.
The defense team is going to have a difficult time defending a man who wants to die and is doing everything he can to bring everyone else into that opinion. The fact that several psychologists were able to point to Moussaoui's abusive childhood as the root of delusional paranoid schizophrenia will likely be overlooked purely on the basis that a vast majority of Americans would probably like to see Moussaoui killed. The defense has therefore also pursued a very pragmatic argument; namely that executing Moussaoui would make America look backwards and heartless at a time when world opinion already does not hold America too highly. It would do nothing to aid the grieving process for families of 9/11 victims and would only bolster the anti-American propaganda campaign of Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
What is "just" is always a precarious determination. This is especially true in this situation. Would it be just to take out all the anger, frustration, and fear of a nation out on one delusional and self-important would-be terrorist whose death will neither deter future terrorist attacks nor alleviate the grief of the families of victims of 9/11? Zacarias Moussaoui should be spared, if for no other reason than to spite the al-Qaeda propagandists who would love nothing more than for America to kill just another one of their pawns.
