Posted on 07/18/2002 2:50:03 PM PDT by dead
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Zacarias Moussaoui said on Thursday he was a member of al Qaeda and tried to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks on America, but a federal judge refused to accept his plea.
Moussaoui, facing his third indictment on conspiracy charges, said in court that he had knowledge of the hijacking attacks, was a member of al Qaeda and pledged his allegiance to Osama bin Laden ( news - web sites).
When asked to enter a plea to charges spelled out in the latest indictment, Moussaoui first attempted to enter a type of plea that the judge said did not exist in federal law. He later said he wanted to plead guilty.
"Moussaoui Zacarias has entered formally a guilty plea fully and completely and he wants to have trial as soon as possible," said Moussaoui, 34, who faces the death penalty in four of the six charges brought against him.
District Judge Leonie Brinkema and Moussaoui often clash in court, as the judge attempts to ensure that Moussaoui -- who is not a lawyer but is representing himself -- understands the law and is aware of what he is doing. In response Moussaoui accuses Brinkema of carrying out a "farce" of a trial.
Brinkema first said she would enter a plea of not guilty on Moussaoui's behalf -- the same plea entered in the first two arraignments. When Moussaoui demanded she accept his plea of guilty, Brinkema stopped the hearing and said she would reconvene in a week to see if Moussaoui had changed his mind.
Moussaoui said he would not.
"I want to have a plea of guilty, because this will ensure to save my life ... even if I plead guilty I will be able to prove I have certain knowledge of September 11."
From Moussaoui's comments, it appeared he believed there would be two phases of the trial -- one to determine his guilt and the other to decide if he would face the death penalty.
If a guilty plea stands, prosecutors would then have to decide whether to go ahead with their announced plans to seek the death penalty. Normally a jury determines the guilt phase and then makes a recommendation whether or not a defendant should receive the death penalty. The judge makes the final decision.
Another alternative could be if the defense and prosecution could come to some plea agreement deal, under which the prosecution might agree to drop the request for the death penalty in exchange for information Moussaoui says he has.
Brinkema raised the issue of a plea bargain to Moussaoui, when she told him to take a week to think about his plea.
"I don't need time," he retorted.
Brinkema reminded him what it meant to plead guilty. "If you're pleading guilty, it means you are admitting what the government claims you did."
She said she would give him a week to reconsider his plea, and if he decided he still wanted to, she would accept it.
INFORMATION ABOUT SEPT. 11 ATTACKS
U.S. officials believe Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was being held on immigration violations when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred, was meant to be the 20th hijacker.
Brinkema stopped Moussaoui from talking shortly after he said: "I am a member of al Qaeda, and I pledge bayat (allegiance) to Osama bin Laden."
The United States blames bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed 3,000 people.
"When you speak, the words can be used against you," Brinkema warned Moussaoui after ordering him to stop talking.
Earlier he had said he spoke of involvement and participation in "a known terrorist group since 1995" and said "the conspiracy I was involved in is an ongoing conspiracy started around 1995 and going on to this day."
Moussaoui has been charged with six counts of conspiracy in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.
The latest indictment, approved by a grand jury on Tuesday, for the first time spells out "aggravating circumstances" in those offenses that help prosecutors seek the death penalty.
Brinkema, who last month declared Moussaoui mentally fit to represent himself, has indicated she might revisit the issue.
Moussaoui predicted she would remove him from the case and hand his defense over to the team of court-appointed lawyers he had fired in part because he believed they were conspiring to kill him.
The attorneys had been ordered to remain in a stand-by capacity in case Moussaoui was removed as his own counsel.
Zacarias Moussaoui, the only one charged in the September 11, 2001 attacks attempted to
plead guilty in a surprise development in U.S. District Court, July 18, 2002, in
Alexandria, Virginia. Moussaoui was told by the presiding judge to reconsider his plea
and set a new court date for next week. (William Hennessey, Jr. via Reuters)
These "bursts" bother me not because of his "state of mind" but the motive behind these bursts....Insanity??
Frankly, I think he knows "exactly" what he's doing and using up "time" for some reason.
The rules of his group say to "use our court system" to your benefit.
We'll never give him the death penalty because France will be all over us.
Sac
He can then give up the right to trial, yes?
Only a jury can pass out the death penalty under Fed rules,yes?
Can someone correct my thoughts (without doing emotional damage to me).
I'm just trying to figure out where he is going with this.
The difference between Lindh and he is that Lindh agreed to give up information under the plea agreement.
Does Moussaoui get out of providing any information by pleading guilty?? and just go directly to jail for the max time??
Sac
That would arouse additional anti-american sentiments and play out well for the bad guys.
The guy would be a martyr, a UBL loyalist and get a bunch of virgins, too.
Sac
It is his right to enter this plea.
If she finds him incompetent, it will be a conspiracy since she is contradicting her previous decision. He will unlikely get the death penalty based on this incompetency ruling.
If he is found competent, he can then give up his right to a trial and goes off to jail without giving us a clue as to what he knows.
A living martyr...dead man tell no tales....is part of their scenario so he will commit suicide.
No matter how I try to find another ending, I keep coming up with the same thing.
Someone play some other scenarios, please.
Sac
In many states, a plea of guilty to a capital crime is not allowed. If the defendant's life is at stake, a "not guilty" plea is entered and a trial by jury is conducted.
I'm unaware of the federal law in this regard...
It is possible to appeal the sentencing without appealing the verdict.
It isn't rare for a sentencing appeal to be granted based on improprieties in the sentencing hearing or overall sentencing process.
Still what this judge is doing is dotting her i's and crossing her t's so that grounds for appeal are nil
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