That’s the same feeling I had, and in answer to Ca3799’s post, I think he’d have said the same kind of thing no matter what happened.
I’ll probably be branded as a conspiracy nut, but I think he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. M. Atta and crew were murderous bastards, but as far as practical concerns went, they had their shit togeather. They cordinated a complex plan involving more then 20 people, 4 airplanes, large amounts of money, etc. I have trouble beliving they would add an obvious nutbag like Moussaoui to the mix.
Indeed one of the captured masterminds of 9/11 said as much, that Moussaoui had asked to be part of the plot but was turned down: Time
Since if you consider someone unreliable you don’t give them details of the “who, when, where” variety, I think that he probably didn’t know enough about the upcoming attacks to be considered as being responsible for them by not telling authorities.
Not that he isn’t guilty of a lot, he was certainly in on some of the plot, he certainly had some sort of plan of his own to hijack planes and he was certainly a member of Al-Queda, albeit not a particularly trusted one. He certainly deserves his life imprisonment.
Also perhaps I’m revealing my ignorance of the laws involved, but isn’t it rather close to breaking the 5th amendment to punish someone for not revealing a conspiracy to which they are a party? I mean, assuming Moussaoui was as guity as could be, was really the “20th hijacker” wouldn’t he be admitting to breaking the law if he ratted out the others and thus in a sense providing testimony against himself?
Yep. My own anti-death penalty stance aside, the last thing we want to do is create martyrs. He was practically begging us to kill him. Frankly, though, I don’t expect him to last long in prison.
Why? I can’t imagine they’ll let anyother prisoner within 100 yards of him, so he’s not going to get killed by an inmate. You think he’ll commit suicide?
We have laws against cruel and unusual punishment. It’s a damn shame too 
He’ll be monitered very closely. If the prison thinks he’s a suicide risk he’ll be watched 24/7 and possibly put in a strip cell.
I agree, it was a legally weak charge.
And that’s what will happen with the life sentence that wouldn’t happen if he were sentenced to death. If he were sentenced to death, his name would come up in the news again when he was scheduled to be executed.
I’m glad he wasn’t given the opportunity to make a martyr of himself.
I’ve wondered about this myself. Personally, if I were planning something heinous, I wouldn’t trust Moussaoui to bring the donuts.
I’ve also wondered, if Massaoui had just shut up and let his lawyers do their thing, could the government have made their case? I suspect not but of course, who knows.
He’s a danger to himself, and possibly others. Jail’s probably the best place for him. I think (from the comfort of my computer chair) this was the right decision.
Take away the spectacular circumstances of the crime Moussaoui’s was accused of and what you’re left with is an unexceptional criminal trial. Namely:
- The accused is mentally ill, but not to the extent that merits an ‘insanity’ defence.
- The prosecution wants a win although the bare evidence is thin.
- The defence considers that an adept and unscrupulous prosecutor will run rings around Moussaoui once he is in the witness box.
- In all the circumstances, the best thing for the defendant is to enter a guilty plea, regardless of the overall merits of the case and the defences that might be raised.
Sadly, it happens all the time.
Looks like I’m (for once) in agreement with the majority of postsrs. 
I think its great that he gets life in prison, I hope he is miserable every day of it, and lives to a ripe old age. I’m all for unusual and heroic efforts to KEEP him alive in fact.
I recommend the exact same sentence for Saddam…long life in a small concrete hole, forgotten and rotting away. Bin Laden too for that matter.
This has nothing to do with my own anti-death penalty stance btw…even if I were pro-DP I think it would be better all around (certainly from a suffering perspective) to keep this ass alive to a ripe old age. Probably save us all some money to boot!
-XT
This Post article suggests not. Some quotes:
Also worth noting that, despite the view in this thread that Moussaoui shouldn’t be killed so as not to give him martyrdom or because a life imprisonment is the worst fate for him:
The one thing I feared was the media circus leading up to a Moussaoui execution. Can you imagine every news outlet camped out with a van and live feeds for days up to and during the event? That’s like throwing gasoline on to the Islamic fundamentalists’ fire.
If the Islamic fundamentalists can go crazy over a few cartoons think what they could do with a Moussaoui execution.
One of the worst things that the government did was execute Timothy McVeigh. All that meant is that we may never know what was behind the OK City bombing.
Moussaoui is insignificant in the scheme of terrorist threats. It’s good that he can not be made a martyr by those that either want to use him as a trophy or an incentive.
A friend of mine just made a good point though…with Moussaoui being kept alive, he may end up still causing some damage if other terrorists decide to use him as an excuse to take hostages and threaten to kill them if he’s not released. I hadn’t considered this angle myself, but it does make some sense…even if the terrorists think the guy is a loser and don’t want him, its a great excuse to kill some innocents over…
Of course, my response to her was, ‘like they need an excuse’…
-XT
This is an argument that Maussaoui used to try to get the jury to execute him. In reality, it has no basis. Nobody, even the most ignorant of terrorists, believes that the US government would trade a high profile terrorist.
Just let the guy rot, be forgotten or get Dahmered. If he gets Dahmerred at least there will be no media buildup.
Furthermore, the blind sheik, (can’t remember his name) that was convicted and thrown in jail due to his connection with the original WTC bombing didn’t get used as a bargaining tool. He is/was much more intelligent, involved and dangerous than Moussaoui.
Moussaoui is just a scapegoat for the government’s mishanding of the whole mess. It’s like convicting a corner bagman and trying to portray it as having broken the Mafia.
Omar Abdel-Rahman.
I’m torn on the matyrdom argument. Propagandists can seize on anything, but the apparent truth is that Moussaoui was nothing to Al Qaeda. He may very well have wanted to be a martyr, but how many people were going to be inspired by the bumbler who got caught before the operation even started? If Moussaoui had known anything important, September 11th might not have happened. In theory, anyway. Ramzi Yousef, who was related to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is orders of magnitude scarier than Moussaoui could ever be. He was working on stuff that would have been worse than September 11 when he was caught.
I agree that the Moussaoui is a crummy martyr, Al-Queda already got much better ones for propaganda purposes from the other 19 hijackers.
I think the point of the martyr arguement though, is not that Moussaoui’s death will be some great propoganda tool, but that it’s what he wants. He wanted to be one of the 19, and now he wants the US gov’t to martyr him, even if it won’t help Al-Queda. Since the death penalty is widely seen as being punishment, it doesn’t really make sense to kill someone who desires it.
Death penalty doesn’t make an (Islamic) martyr of you and it won’t give you 72 virgins. Now you have taken it upon yourself to feed and clothe and house a man who hates you all, and would rather see you all dead, for some 50-60 years and for untold millions of dollars. How many poor US citizens could you have saved from poverty and premature death for the same amount, how many schools could you have build, doctors educated and hired? Why is that a fair trade? Why should Moussaoui suck up funds that could easily have been spent on many more deserving purposes?
Those people who admire bin Laden and such will not respect you for this. They’ll just think it proves you’re weak and effeminate and yet another example of how they can use western democracy and western liberal groups to destroy themselves. Soon you’ll hear about Moussaoui again; when his lawyers demand you supply him with a prayer rug, refurbish his cell so the toilet points away from Mecca, demand special prepared hallal food, quiet during his five times a day prayer, accommodate his special Ramadan food needs, complain someone pissed on his Koran, demand Internet access, demand to be extradited to Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia or somewhere, when terrorists demand his release in return for not decapitating the latest hostage, etc. when Amnesty International or The Red Cross demand access to his prison cell. When he publishes his online journal or hateful sermons on tapes to be spread in Middle Eastern bazaars together with snuff movies or he is respectfully interviewed by (properly veiled) CNN journalists to be aired in prime time. Perhaps after a few years and the worst scars of 9/11 will be forgotten by all but those personally involved, we’ll even live to see his case be taken up by Hollywood celebrities, conspiracy enthusiasts, and leftwing protesters. Free Mumia! Free Moussaoui!
He should have been disposed of like a sick farm animal. Shot and his remains destroyed.