Moussaoui verdict - my rants
During the jury deliberations I thought that the death penalty was a fitting sentence for Moussaoui. He had a part in the September 11th attack - he deserved to die. But now that the punishment has been read, my thoughts have done a complete 180.
First, if this guy was really a part of the September 11th attacks, or training for something similar, he was already willing to die for what he believed in. If he was willing to steer a plane into a building then death is not a valid punishment. Moussaoui would have been much more powerful as a martyr than someone spending out the rest of his life in a cell.
And the whole trial makes me wonder how petty we’re being as a nation. Yes, September 11th was a tragic day. Yes, I agree we should find those who are responsible and still alive and punish them. But I really think that Moussaoui was singled out as someone to take the brunt of the pain that we all feel stemming from September 11th. And I wonder how much of the support of the current war is due to that same pain.
I now think that the right decision was made by the jury. Not because I think that death wasn’t warranted in this case. I believe it was. A lot of people died a horrific death that day and anybody who was involved in that deserves to be punished. But I think in this case, no matter what Moussaoui spouts out at trial, a life sentence is a better punishment because it keeps Moussaoui from martyrdom.