Moussaoui takes stand in death-penalty trial
Confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, taking the witness stand in Alexandria, Virginia, today argued that he cannot get a fair trial so close to the Defence Department and denied he was trying to sabotage his defence by testifying earlier that he was to have piloted a fifth plane on September 11, 2001.
Moussaoui, as defiant on the witness stand as he has been at the defendant’s table throughout the trial, testified against the advice of his court-appointed lawyers and attacked them before the jury that has to decide whether he should be executed.
Defence lawyer Gerald Zerkin asked Moussaoui, a French citizen, if he thought he was helping his case when he testified the first time that he planned to pilot a plane into the White House on September 11.
“I was putting my trust in God, so from an Islamic point of view, yes,” Moussaoui responded, though he acknowledged that non-Muslims might view his testimony as harmful to his case.
When Moussaoui was asked by Zerkin what his defence would have been if he had had a Muslim attorney of his choice, he suggested that he could have been part of a prisoner swap, in which he could have been exchanged for imprisoned American troops around the world.
“This would work with even the most vengeful juror,” Moussaoui said.
Defence lawyers have said Moussaoui is lying about his role in September 11 - the worst terrorism attack ever on US soil – in the hopes of achieving martyrdom through execution.
Moussaoui testified that “for the last four years, I have been fighting” against the death penalty.
Moussaoui said he considered the consequences of his previous testimony about his role in September 11 and “decided to just put my trust in God, tell the truth and time will tell”.
Assailing his court-appointed lawyers, Moussaoui said: ”You have put your vested interest in keeping this case in your hands, above my interest to save my life.”
Zerkin had asked him if he believed that his defence team was in a conspiracy to kill him.
Moussaoui responded that they have been engaged in “criminal non-assistance”.
Specifically, he said the lawyers should have sought a change of venue from Virginia because Virginia jurors are more likely to give the death penalty because of the proximity of the Defence Department, which was hit on September 11, 2001, along with the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York.
The Pentagon is in nearby Arlington, Virginia, a few miles away.
One of the first motions that Moussaoui filed when he won the right to represent himself in 2002 was seeking a change of venue.
Moussaoui had requested a change of venue when he was representing himself in April 2002, citing an overrepresentation of US government employees in the area.
He also said there was more intense media attention in the northern Virginia area due to the September 11 attack on the Pentagon.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, however, rejected the claim and said Moussaoui would be able to get an impartial jury.
Earlier, Moussaoui’s lawyers opened his defence by seeking to convince jurors to spare his life and put him in a place from which he could never escape.
An expert on prison policy and management testified that if Moussaoui is spared the death penalty he would spend the rest of his life in the highest-security federal prison facilities after he is sentenced.
James Aiken, the first defence witness in the second phase of Moussaoui’s death-penalty trial, said Moussaoui would always require the highest level of supervision and would be isolated not only from the outside world but also from other prisoners.
“I don’t care how good he is … I don’t care how compliant he is. He will be in the security envelope as long as he lives,” Aiken said.
On cross examination, Aiken acknowledged that Moussaoui regularly taunts his guards and that guards have twice had to forcibly remove him from his cell.
“He’s not going to be inmate of the year,” Aiken conceded.
The jury took an extended break when lawyers went into a closed hearing in late morning.
Moussaoui, as he was led out of the courtroom, bellowed: “Victory for Moussaoui! God curse you all!”
Moussaoui’s defence team over the next several days is expected to argue that his life should be spared because of his limited role in the September 11 attacks.
They plan to present evidence that he is mentally ill and that his execution would only play into his dream of martyrdom.
