US sentencing trial for Sept 11 conspirator begins

Alexandria, Mar 07: A federal judge yesterday (Mar 06, 2006) seated a jury that will determine whether September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui will be executed and urged the jurors to keep open minds while deciding his fate.

''In making this very difficult decision about punishment, you must be guided by reason and your sense of justice and not by bias, prejudice or sympathy for or against the defendant or the victims,'' US District Judge Leonie Brinkema said.

Brinkema made the comments at the start of the only trial to be held in the United States in connection with the September 11, 2001, hijackings, which killed about 3,000 people.

Moussaoui, 37, who was arrested the month before the attacks after raising suspicions at a flight school, sat quietly, unlike in previous court appearances when he made frequent outbursts.

Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to all six counts against him. Three of the charges carry the death penalty.

''Because the defendant has pled guilty, there is no question about whether he is guilty of the crimes for which he was charged,'' Brinkema told the 12 jurors and five alternates. ''You have been selected to serve as jurors solely to decide the defendant's punishment.'' Moussaoui, dressed in a green prisoner's jumpsuit and a white cap, spent most of his time leaning back in his chair rubbing his long, bushy beard during final selection of the 17 jurors out of an initial pool of 500 people.

Can't fire Lawyers

Moussaoui, who has repeatedly tried to fire his lawyers, took some notes and stared at the potential jurors. He made another request to represent himself but Brinkema denied it.

The trial is being held just a few miles from the Pentagon, which was one of the targets on September 11, 2001.

In the first phase of the trial, federal prosecutors will try to prove that Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, lied to the FBI shortly after his arrest about his knowledge of the September 11 plot.

If the jury finds that Moussaoui lied, resulting in the death of at least one person on September 11, then another phase will be held to determine if he will be sentenced to death.

Moussaoui's lawyers say it will be hard to prove that Moussaoui could have told the FBI anything that would have prevented the September 11 hijackings.

Brinkema said evidence from six enemy combatants may be presented during trial. The trial was delayed for years due to appeals over Moussaoui's access to al Qaeda detainees he said could help his case.

Moussaoui has said he was not meant to be part of the September 11 attacks but was due to be involved in a second wave of attacks.

Victims and family members of those who died on September 11 can watch the trial at special viewing rooms in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and at the Alexandria courthouse.

Although the court district is considered more sympathetic to the death penalty than some other US regions, no one has been sentenced to death at the Alexandria courthouse.

Reuters