Judge to Moussaoui: "You will die with a whimper"

And so we finally come to the end of the Moussaoui trial. Normally, I'm a death penalty proponent, but in this case, I have to agree with the jury. Denying Moussaoui will just exacerbate his wish to die as a martyr. Cox and Forkum called it right on this one (see the cartoon above).

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema got the last word Thursday as she formally handed down a lifetime prison sentence for Zacarias Moussaoui.
"You will die with a whimper," Brinkema told the Al Qaeda conspirator - since he will never be allowed to speak publicly again - as she sentenced him to six life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
A jury on Wednesday sentenced the Al Qaeda conspirator to life without the possibility of parole instead of sending him to death row. Not all jurors were convinced that Moussaoui, who was in jail on immigration charges Sept. 11, had a significant part in the attacks, despite his claims that he did.
Moussaoui got one last chance to speak publicly Thursday before he is sent to the "Supermax" facility in Florence, Colo., a super-maximum security prison with little to no contact with the outside world. That facility also houses failed shoe-bomber Richard Reid, among other notorious criminals.
Moussaoui taunted the United States once again Thursday, as he has done during various outbursts throughout his trial.
"We will come back one day. You will never get him. God curse America. God save Usama bin Laden. You will never get him," he said after he walked into the courtroom flashing a victory sign.
Brinkema firmly refused to be interrupted by the 37-year-old French national of Moroccan descent as she disputed his claim that his life sentence meant America had lost and he had won.
"Mr. Moussaoui, when this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to see the sun ... hear the birds ... and they can associate with whomever they want," she said. "You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It's absolutely clear who won."
She said it was only fitting that he will be kept away from outsiders.
"Mr. Moussaoui, you came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory," she said, "but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper."
At that point, Moussaoui tried again to interrupt her, but she spoke even louder over him.
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending," she added.
James Aiken, a former U.S. federal prison official, said the convicted terrorist would "rot" at the Florence facility.
"They are in a security envelope, a security bubble. Their environment is sterile, they are isolated from the outside world and from the prison world," said Aiken, who gave evidence for the defense's case against the death penalty for the defendant. "He doesn't know yet, but under such conditions, as time goes by they rot."
Brinkema informed him of his right to appeal the sentence and said she would ask his court-appointed lawyers to file the required notice as a precaution before relieving them from the case. "I believe it would be an act of futility," she said of an appeal, "but you do have a right."
French authorities said Thursday they may eventually press the United States to have Moussaoui serve his life sentence in France under two conventions on the transfer of convicts.
Moussaoui's mother Aicha El Wafi, pressed for her country to intervene. "Now he is going to die in little doses," she said. "He is going to live like a rat in a hole. What for? They are so cruel."
Moussaoui is the only person so far charged in connection with the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and launched the U.S.-led War on Terror. He was convicted of several terrorism-related counts last year, including conspiring with Al Qaeda to commit acts of terrorism and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said there are "challenges" to prosecuting terrorist cases in the U.S. system, but added, "I think justice was served in this case."

'There is Still One Final Judgment Day'
Lisa Dolan, who lost her husband Bob in the attack on the Pentagon, was one of three family members of victims allowed to speak at Thursday's sentencing hearing.
She turned to Moussaoui said, "There is still one final judgment day."
Moussaoui sat in his chair staring at Dolan and the other family witnesses, Rosemary Dillard and Abraham Scott, betraying no emotion as they spoke.
"You have branded me as a terrorist or a criminal or whatever," he said. "Look at yourselves. I fight for my belief." He spoke for less than five minutes; the judge told him he could not use his sentencing to make a political speech.
Moussaoui said he kept his speech short because America doesn't want to listen. "You wasted an opportunity to learn why people like me, like (9/11 hijacker) Mohamed Atta, have so much hatred of you. ... If you don't want to hear, you will feel" pain.
To Dillard, who lost her husband Eddie in the Pentagon, Moussaoui responded: "Maybe one day she can think about how many people the CIA has destroyed. ... You have a hypocrisy beyond belief. Your humanity is a selective humanity. Only you suffer."
"It was just a dagger stuck in my heart, personally - him not showing any remorse for what those terrorists did on 9/11," Abraham said.
The families of the Sept. 11 victims have been divided over whether Moussaoui deserved life or death.
"He will be in confinement, he will not be released and we can all take pleasure or gratitude in that. He's a bad man," said Dillard, who lost her husband on Sept. 11. "We showed the world what we will do to terrorists and that we will treat them with respect, no matter how much they disrespect us and that means an awful lot, that makes us the bigger and better person and society."
"He's going to be in jail for the rest of his life, which is exactly what this man deserves," said Carie Lemack, whose mother, Judy Larocque, was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, which was flown into the World Trade Center. "He's an Al Qaeda wannabe and he does not deserve any credit for 9/11 because he was not part of it ... he just wanted to kill Americans but he wasn't even smart enough to do that."
The father of one Sept. 11 victim said he was bothered at the thought of Moussaoui getting to live.
"My son didn't see his 33rd birthday. From a personal point of view, I would have been more pleased, frankly, if the jury had made a different decision," David Beamer told FOX News.
Beamer is the father of Todd Beamer, who has been hailed as one of the heroes of United Flight 93, which crashed into a rural Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back against their hijackers.
"I am not looking forward to summary reports on the anniversary of 9/11 on how is Moussaoui doing, is he alive and well, how is he surviving his life sentence. I certainly hope and pray we don't have an experience where certain factions claim his privileges are being denied, he's not getting what he deserves - I really, really don't want to hear any of that," Beamer said.
"These were just innocent civilians just going to work, trying to live the American dream and they were murdered," Rosemary Cain, whose son died on Sept. 11, told FOX News on Thursday. "I have to respect the jury's decision, I don't agree with it. I'm a little angry but I have to live with it, that's the American way."
She said it's not much consolation knowing that Moussaoui will be cut off from the rest of the world for the rest of his life.
"We're talking about a small cell, no amenities but he's still alive ... his mother may not be able to see him but she knows he's alive. I don't have that luxury, none of the other mothers have that luxury," Cain added.
Alice Hoagland, whose son, Mark, died on United Flight 93, said she understands the feelings of those families who wanted a death sentence for Moussaoui. But she said life in prison is a better testament to the morality of the United States' justice system.
"I understand their feelings and yes, maybe he does deserve to die," Hoagland told FOX News on Thursday. "But taking another human life is not going to bring us closure or satisfaction and we have demonstrated by sparing his life that we are a nation not just of justice and laws but also a nation of compassion and mercy."
Sandy Dahl, widow of United Flight 93 Capt. Jason Dahl, agreed with the sentence.
"I've been sentenced to life. I've been sentenced to life without my husband. He doesn't get to go out the easy way and I'm happy about that ... what an evil, evil man, so much hate in this man. I was just totally appalled that he could rub salt in the wounds that he already caused," Dahl said. "I believe that justice was served in this case because I think it would have been too easy for him to just die. The man does not respect life - either his life or anyone else's life."
The jurors deliberated for seven days, having previously decided that Moussaoui was responsible for at least one death on Sept. 11 and thereby eligible for the death penalty.

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