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Today's Stories April 7 -9, 2006 Jeffrey
St. Clair April 6, 2006 John
Ross Dave
Lindorff Don
Monkerud Robert
McDonald Boris
Kagarlitsky Remi
Kanazi Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Robert
Fisk
April 5, 2006 Dick
J. Reavis Mark
Brenner Brian
Cloughley Jozef
Hand-Boniakowski Matt
Vidal Juan
Santos Alan
Maass JoAnn
Wypijewski Website
of the Day
April 4, 2006 Jackson
Thoreau Gary
Corseri Dave
Lindorff Paul
Craig Roberts Norman
Solomon Michael
Carmichael Winslow
T. Wheeler Ingmar
Lee Michael
Neumann Website
of the Day
April 3, 2006 Saul
Landau Richard
Thieme Timothy
B. Tyson Omar
Barghouti Iwasaki
Atsuko Julian
Edney Roger
Morris
April 1 / 2, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Dave
Zirin David
Underhill Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Dave
Lindorff P.
Sainath Fred
Gardner Clancy
Chassay Heather
Gray Greg
Moses John
Chuckman Ron
Jacobs Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
March 31, 2006 Gary
Leupp Patrick
Cockburn Saree
Makdisi Ron
Jacobs Mark
Engler Curtis
F.J. Doebbler Laith
al-Saud Website
of the Day
March 30, 2006 Uri
Avnery Sen.
Russell Feingold Winslow
T. Wheeler Dave
Lindorff Juan
Santos Frida
Berrigan Joshua
Frank Vonnie
Edwards Neve
Gordon Website
of the Day
March 29, 2006 CounterPunch
News Service Patrick
Cockburn John
Ross Omar
Barghouti William
S. Lind Missy
Comley Beattie Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Website
of the Day
March 28, 2006 Sharon
Smith Paul
Craig Roberts Tariq
Ali Manuel
Garcia, Jr. Ramzy
Baroud Evelyn
Pringle Seth
Sandronsky Patrick
Cockburn
March 27, 2006 Patrick
Cockburn Joshua
Frank Ron
Jacobs Jeff
Lays Davey
D. Robert
Billyard Jim
Rigby Lisa
Viscidi Nick
Dearden Gideon
Levy Website
of the Day
Alexander
Cockburn Patrick
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Christopher
Reed Jeff
Ballinger Joseph
Massad Brian
Cloughley Chris
Floyd Elaine
Cassel Dave
Zirin John
Chuckman Sharon
Smith Christopher
Fons Chris
Kromm John
Bomar Ron
Jacobs Maymanah
Farhat St.
Clair / Walker / Vest Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
March 24, 2006 Cockburn
/ Sengupta / Duff P. Sainath Todd
Chretien Marty
Omoto Michael
Carmichael Peter
Phillips Gabriel
Kolko Website
of the Day
March 23, 2006 Charles
V. Peña Joe
DeRaymond Robert
Fisk Jonathan
Cook Tom
Engelhardt Joshua
Frank Norman
Solomon Robert
Fitch / Joe Allen Patrick
Cockburn CounterPunch
News Service Website
of the Day
March 22, 2006 David
MacMichael Juan
Santos Paul
Craig Roberts Patrick
Cockburn Ramzy
Baroud Jason
Leopold Dennis
Perrin William
Blum Jeffrey
St. Clair Website
of the Day
March 21, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Winslow
Wheeler Tom
Engelhardt Arnold
Oliver Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Mike
Whitney William
A. Cook Sophia
A. McLennen
March 20, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Dave
Lindorff Ralph
Nader Diane
Christian Jeff
Halper Harry
Browne Norman
Solomon Patrick
Cockburn Website
of the Day
March 18 / 19, 2006 Cockburn
/ St. Clair Werther Chris
Kromm Patrick
Cockburn Elaine
Cassel S. Brian
Willson Fred
Gardner Brian
Cloughley Laura
Carlsen Eamon
Martin Julie
Hilden Alison
Weir Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
March 17, 2006 Eduardo
Galeano Greg
Moses Richard
Falk / David Krieger Cindy
and Craig Corrie Amira
Hass Mike
Marqusee James
Petas and Robin Eastman-Abaya Website
of the Day
March 16, 2006 Norman
Solomon Tom
Philpott Heather
Gray Amira
Hass Missy
Comley Beattie Sen.
Russell Feingold Lucinda
Marshall Andrew
Bosworth Clancy
Sigal Website
of the Day
Jonathan
Cook Winslow
Wheeler Diane
Christian Ron
Jacobs Missy
Comley Beattie Jared
Bernstein Noam
Chomsky Website
of the Day
March 14, 2006 Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Dave
Lindorff Kevin
Zeese Todd
Chretien Jason
Kunin Thomas
Palley Cockburn
/ St. Clair Website
of the Day
March 13, 2006 Uri
Avnery Dave
Lindorff Mike
Whitney David
Green Jeremy
Scahill Mike
Ferner Corey
Harris Paul
Craig Roberts Website
of the Day
Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Paul
Craig Roberts Ben
Tripp John
Strausbaugh Landau
/ Hassen Robert
Bryce Gary
Leupp Fred
Gardner Ron
Jacobs Jonathan
Scott Ramzy
Baroud Jordan
Flaherty John
Chuckman Joe
Allen Julia
Kendlbacher St.
Clair / Walker / Pollack / Vest Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
March 10, 2006 Ben
Rosenfeld Lila
Rajiva Saree
Makdisi Elena
Shore Joshua
Frank Dave
Zirin Aura
Bogado
March 9, 2006 John
Walsh Annie
Zirin Brian
McKenna Chris
Floyd Rachard
Itani Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Wylie
Harris Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day
March 8, 2006 Patrick
Bond Brian
Concannon, Jr. Pat
Williams Lance
Selfa Mokhiber
/ Weissman Walter
Brasch Vijay
Prashad Website
of the Day
March 7, 2006 Werther John
Blair Dave
Lindorff Mike
Whitney Warren
Guykema Sen.
Russell Feingold Robert
Jensen Norman
Solomon Bernie
Dwyer Website
of the Day
Ralph
Nader Dave
Zirin Vanessa
Redgrave Walter
A. Davis Joshua
Frank Nate
Mezmer Paul
Craig Roberts Website
of the Day
Alexander
Cockburn Jennifer
Van Bergen Steven
Higgs Winslow
T. Wheeler Ron
Jacobs Rev.
William E. Alberts Colin
Asher Fred
Gardner "Pariah" John
Scagliotti Seth
Sandronsky Joan
Roelofs Arjun
Makhijani Ardeshr
Ommani Diana
Barahona Ben
Tripp St.
Clair / Socialist Worker Staff Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend March 3, 2006 Laura
Carlsen John
V. Whitbeck Chris
Floyd Mohamed
Hakki Pratyush
Chandra John
Scagliotti Website
of the Day
March 2, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Dave
Lindorff Ramzy
Baroud Saul
Landau Joe
Allen Steve
Shore Denise
Boggs Norman
Finkelstein Website
of the Day
March 1, 2006 Mairead
Corrigan Maguire Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Faheem
Hussain Antony
Loewenstein Elizabeth
Schulte Mike
Whitney John
Ryan Michael
Donnelly Tom
Reeves Website
of the Day
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Weekend
Edition What Kind of Justice is This? The Moussaoui Trial By ELAINE CASSEL On April 3, after four days of deliberation, an Alexandria, Virginia federal court jury found Zacarias Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty -- on the ground that he had conspired to use airplanes as weapons of mass destruction, resulting in the deaths of Americans on September 11. (The jury still must decide whether to impose the death penalty.) Prior to its finding, the jury heard some surprising in-court testimony: Moussaoui claimed for the first time that he and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid had planned to fly a plane into the White House, as a part of a plan that culminated in the September 11 attacks. He also led the jury to believe that he knew more about the planned attacks than anyone had imagined. Does that mean the case is now neatly tied up? Hardly. These "admissions" suffer from a dramatic lack of credibility, in the face of the rest of the evidence in the case (including doubts about Moussaoui's competence). As a result, Moussaoui may be sentenced to death not for what he did or did not do, but for his lies about what he did or did not do or know.
Here is what the evidence does show that Moussaoui did, and knew: He was a supporter of al Qaeda. He traveled to the United States in an attempt to learn to fly an airplane, so that he might be a part of some scheme (the details of which he was not sure) to take place after a major attack (the date of which he did not know). Accordingly, prior to this sentencing trial, Moussaoui pled guilty in this proceeding to broad conspiracy charges--not to involvement in the September 11 attacks. Did that plea merit the death
penalty? The government argued that it did because, while in
immigration detention prior to September 11, under government
questioning, Moussaoui failed to reveal what he knew about the
plot--and thus, the government contended, he failed to The problem with this argument, though, is that like all those facing custodial government questioning, Moussaoui had the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Thus, had Moussaoui not made his startling in-court "admissions," the jury would have been left with the difficult question of whether Moussaoui ought to face death not for the acts to which he pled guilty, but for his silence, through which he exercised a constitutional right.
No wonder, then, that the government was elated by Moussaoui's startling new "admissions." But viewed in the light of the rest of the evidence, these supposed admissions are extremely hard to believe. Indeed, they are totally uncorroborated. Here's the evidence: In videotaped testimony, other al Qaeda members said Moussaoui was so bumbling and incompetent, bin Laden would have never trusted him with anything. Similarly, Moussaoui was brought to the attention of the FBI because his flight school instructor was alarmed at how poorly he was doing--and in particular, because he openly said that he wanted to learn to fly large jets but had no interest in obtaining a pilot's license. The FBI never searched Moussaoui's laptop computer for evidence of a potential hijacking conspiracy. If Moussaoui had indeed been directly involved in September 11, it seems very likely that the evidence surrounding him would have led the government to do such a search. Imagine, for instance, if it had been Mohammed Atta who had been cast under suspicion by his flight instructor instead. It seems impossible to believe that the government could not have gotten into Atta's laptop based on evidence about Atta. But Moussaoui was not Atta--and, as the September 11 Commission report explains, even when the FBI took information about Moussaoui to then-CIA head George Tenet, he was unimpressed. The September 11 commission report concluded that Moussaoui had no direct involvement in September 11. Why would Moussaoui lie? First, he is psychologically unbalanced--perhaps even schizophrenic. Second, if he perceives that a death sentence is inevitable anyway, he may want to taunt and anger the jurors and public as much as possible, by claiming far greater responsibility than, in fact, he had.
After Moussaoui's surprising testimony, will the jury sentence him to death? It seems certain they will. These jurors are "death-qualified": Each said he or she was willing to inflict the death penalty. (Though the Sixth Amendment guarantees an "impartial" jury, the Supreme Court has sanctioned "death qualification.") Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that "death-qualified" jurors are far more likely to convict a defendant and vote to impose a death sentence. Meanwhile, the defense does not have much to offer in the way of mitigation. Moussaoui's mother -- who personally investigated her son's descent into radical Islamism after he was arrested (her journey is the subject of a French documentary) -- may or may not testify. The defense will offer evidence of Moussaoui's questionable mental status, but the jury probably won't be moved by it. The volatile, mentally unstable Moussaoui has offered no trace of remorse -- yelling "Death to America," and "Long live Osama" in the courtroom. What will impress the jury, however, will be the heart-wrenching stories of loss from family members and the film footage capturing the horror of bodies falling from the sky and the World Trade Center towers collapsing under the impact of airplanes used as weapons of mass destruction. Of course, this evidence is extremely moving to all of us. But to these particular jurors, it may cut even deeper: Some were quite close to the September 11 attacks -- either by virtue of where they worked (near the Pentagon) or their connections to victims and rescue workers. The defense objected to several such jurors, but they made the final cut anyway. One may wonder, in light of their seating on the panel, whether Moussaoui got the "impartial jury" the Sixth Amendment promises. Were Atta on trial, the presentation of the September 11 and victim statement evidence would be appropriate, at least if one agrees--as the Supreme Court does--with the constitutionality of presenting "victim impact" evidence in the first place. But with Moussaoui on trial, the evidence's connection to the proceeding is tenuous; again, except for his own very recent claims, the only connection between Moussaoui and September 11 was his alleged failure to speak out to prevent it.
Even if all this evidence, put together, did not move the jurors to impose the death penalty, the jurors can hardly be immune from the impetus to punish someone for the September 11 attacks. With the perpetrators either already dead or, in the case of bin Laden and his lieutenants, continuing to escape justice, vengeance has no focus. So the government--with lots of help from the defendant-- has provided one. For after Moussaoui testified, it was disclosed that he had met secretly with prosecutors early this year, agreeing to be put to death as long as the conditions of his pre-execution confinement could be improved. The government rejected this request -- perhaps because it would then have had to cancel the spectacle that is about to occur. And again, one has to ask, what kind of defendant rejects his defense attorney and offers himself up to the government as a martyr? Moussaoui will have lots of support in his quest for death. While it's true that some family members don't want the death penalty for Moussaoui, either because they don't believe in it or because they would like to thwart Moussaoui's quest for martyrdom, calls for Moussaoui's death, even before he testified, have been consistent. In a March 6 USA Today article, Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son died on September 11, noted that the hijackers are all dead, and Moussaoui is the only one left to hold accountable. "They all got away with murder, so we only have him left." The wife of one of the airplane pilots said she felt that Moussaoui brought down her husband's plane as surely as if he had taken over the controls. And an April 3 Washington Post account quoted a family member comparing Moussaoui to a dog with rabies, that had to die. One can understand the families' anger and grief, but the idea that "somebody" has to pay for September 11 partakes of religious concepts of atonement and sacrifice that should have no place in our criminal justice system. Rather, the underpinnings of our system are rational evidence and proportional punishment, not irrational, though understandable, feelings. However, a highly charged emotional atmosphere and calls for vengeance are what the jurors themselves are faced with (and, indeed, what many of them may be personally feeling). Given this backdrop, it would be asking a lot of this death-qualified jury--primed and prone to sentence to death anyway-- to lay aside the venom of the defendant and the vengeance of the victims and sentence him to life without parole based on his original plea. That would be the just outcome. But justice has played little part in this phase of the trial of the terrorist who hopes to achieve in death, what he could not achieve in life. Elaine Cassel practices law in Virginia and the
District of Columbia and teaches law and psychology. She doesn't
like being lied to. Her new book The
War on Civil Liberties: How Bush and Ashcroft Have Dismantled
the Bill of Rights, is published by Lawrence Hill. She can
be reached at: ecassel1@cox.net
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