Jurors to See 9/11 Tapes in Moussaoui Trial
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New York Law School crminal law professer Sadiq Reza is advising Zacarais Moussaoui on criminal proceedings. |
ALEXANDRIA,
Virginia, Aug 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. attorneys
prosecuting Zacarias Moussaoui will be allowed to show jurors footage
of the September 11 attacks and photographs of the victims If
convicted, he would be subjected to the death penalty, a federal judge
decided Thursday, August 8, 2002.
"The
government intends to introduce relevant portions of the videotapes
and photographs during both the guilt and penalty phases to describe
the murders at the World Trade Center," the prosecution team
wrote in the request to the judge in Moussaoui's case, Leonie
Brinkema.
"The
attacks on the World Trade Center, and the resulting damage, may be
one of the most photographed and videotaped events in the history of
the United States," prosecutors said.
"This
will be particularly important during the penalty phase as the
government seeks to prove that the crime was committed in an
‘especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner in that it involved
torture or serious physical abuse to the victim,’" said the
team, lead by U.S. attorney Paul McNulty.
Brinkema,
who is going through pretrial motions, granted the requests Thursday.
Prosecutors
also asked for the right to show photos of some 2,800 victims from the
World Trade Center bombing "so the jury properly understands who
was murdered instead of merely hearing statistics."
They
also want to play the cockpit voice recorder, which records cockpit
noise, from United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on
September 11, for the jury, but ban the public from hearing it.
Passengers on the plane apparently tried to wrest control of the
aircraft from hijackers.
Brinkema,
on Wednesday, encouraged Moussaoui to consult with a New York Law
School criminal law professor, Sadiq Reza, who has met with Moussaoui
at least once.
News
agencies report Brinkema is attempting to locate a legal expert to
whom Moussaoui will listen.
Moussaoui
had wanted a Muslim lawyer from Texas to provide advice, but Brinkema
rejected the request when the lawyer refused to formally enter the
case, reports news agencies.
A
U.S.-born Muslim of Indian heritage, Reza, 37, has criticized both
Osama bin Laden and the Justice Department's secret detentions after
Sept. 11. He is a former public defender in Washington, DC, who
graduated from Harvard Law School, and has worked for the American
Muslim Council and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Standby
lawyers for Moussaoui, who have avoided contact with Reza, have
requested a minimum two-month delay in his trial date, according to
documents filed in federal court here this week.
"Standby
counsel continue to take seriously their obligation to be prepared to
try this case, and also need a continuance of the trial date,"
the court- appointed attorneys, led by Frank Dunham, said in their
motion.
"Though
more time would be useful, we estimate that another 60 days of
preparation time beyond the currently set trial date of September 30
is the absolute minimum necessary," the motion read.
Moussaoui
fired his court-appointed attorneys earlier this year and is now
representing himself in court. But Brinkema has asked the attorneys to
remain ready to intervene if necessary.
The
attorneys said the additional time was required to review, among other
items, the 1,189 computer disks, 1,262 audiocassettes and 755 pages of
classified information received in connection with the case as of
mid-July. They also said it would be necessary to find and subpoena
defense witnesses.
The
case "cannot be prepared by even the standby team… by the
scheduled trial date of September 30, and it surely cannot be prepared
in that time, if ever, by a single individual who is locked in a cell,
with virtually no access to the outside world," they said,
requesting that the trial begin "no earlier than November 30,
2002."
A
French citizen of Moroccan origin, Moussaoui, 34, is the only person
charged in connection to the September 11 attacks. He has publicly
declared himself a member of bin Laden's al-Qaeda group, blamed for
the attacks, but has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Arrested
in August 2001 on immigration violations, Moussaoui has since been
charged with conspiracy to commit acts of terror that transcend
international borders; conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy;
conspiracy to destroy aircraft; conspiracy to use weapons of mass
destruction; conspiracy to murder U.S. employees; and conspiracy to
destroy property.
If
found guilty on any one of the four charges, Moussaoui could be
sentenced to death.
Jury
selection begins Sept. 30.
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