Page 9
Matthew Geiger
FORUM COLUMNIST
The fallout from Sept. 11
has already brought the United
States into what looks like an
extended military campaign in
Afghanistan. It also appears
that Iraq will be our next step
in the "war on terrorism." Na
tionally, the first criminal
charges are being brought
against persons involved in the
attacks.
On March 27, Attorney
General John Ashcroft outlined
these charges. Zacarias
Moussaoui has been charged
by the United States Govern
ment with six counts of con
spiracy: conspiracy to commit
acts of terrorism transcending
national boundaries, to commit
aircraft piracy, to destroy air
craft, to use weapons of mass
destruction, to murder United
States employees, and to de
stroy property.
After the announcement
that the death penalty would be
sought, the French Govern
ment responded with a state
ment that it would withhold
information that it has on
Moussaoui. The reason for this
is because our government is
seeking the death penalty for
Moussaoui. This is unusual be
cause most criminals charged
with conspiracy do not face the
death penalty.
With the French Govern
ment saying that they are go
ing to withhold information on
Moussaoui, the result will pos
sibly cause prosecutors diffi
culty in making a strong
enough case against
Moussaoui. In a New York
Times article on the subject, it
speculated that French officials
have volumes of information on
Moussaoui. What makes this
very significant is that this is
perhaps one of the first major
flare-ups that our government
is going to have with other
countries that are helping us
fight terrorism.
To state the obvious, the
United States treats criminals
differently than any other
country in the world and ter-
Forum
Revenge and the death penalty
rorists are no exception. Right
or wrong, our penalties are
much harsher than in Europe.
This is certainly not a case of one
side's being right or wrong, but
what happens next?
What would happen if
those files that the French have
are the difference between a
conviction and an acquittal?
Are the interests of justice
served because our country will
not compromise? If we choose
to ignore the French request,
maybe it does not really mat
ter right now, but what about
in the long run? How many
more of our allies are we will
ing to alienate? And our gov
ernment does this just so they
can continue fighting terrorism
in the "our way or the highway"
mentality?
Another aspect of the case
is that there is plenty of evi
dence against Moussaoui, but
none of it shows
a direct involve
ment with the at
tacks of Sept. 11.
In fact,
Moussaoui was in
prison when the
attacks hap
pened. However,
even though he
was not actively
involved in the
deaths, the gov
ernment can still
seek the death
penalty against
him.
The Supreme
Court ruled nar
rowly in 1987
that defendants
who play a major
role in crimes in
which death re
sults might be
sentenced to
death if they act
with "reckless
disregard for hu
man life." That
ruling cut back a
1982 case that
was widely seen
as outlawing the
death penalty for
defendants who
did not personally
kill or intend to
kill. (Source: New
York Times.)
In that ar
ticle, the Times
pointed out that
there is no direct
evidence to link
Moussaoui, but
also in that same
article a law pro
fessor was quoted
The Guilfordian
as saying that even though
Moussaoui was in jail during
the attacks, that fact alone
"would not by itself eliminate
the possibility that prosecutors
could show he was a substan
tial actor in the plot to kill."
There is something rotten
in Denmark. I understand that
the Sept. 11 attacks are cer
tainly unique and need to be
considered when bringing
charges against a suspect.
However, I do not like the idea
of our government destroying
years of legal precedent just to
satisfy its own bloodlust. It
seems to me that our govern
ment is willing to whore itself
out to the death penalty even
at the risk of alienating all of
Europe and possibly all of our
allies. At the same time, it
would also eliminate any legal
dignity we might have had left.
There is not a doubt in my
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April 5, 2002
mind that the first case against
a "presumed" terrorist is going
to be handled differently than
other cases in the past with
similar charges. If our govern
ment really wanted to show how
fair and just they can be, the
proper steps to take would be to
follow the legal precedent. By
doing this, it shows that any
body can get a fair trial even af
ter being charged with the most
heinous of crimes.
Of course, I doubt any of
that would happen. I have lost
so much faith in our national
leaders that I do not think that
they are capable of doing any
thing past making coffee in the
morning. What they are doing
seems to be self-serving, irre
sponsible, and most impor
tantly, not in the interests of jus
tice. They are out for revenge
this time, which is unfortunate
for all of us.
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