After a lengthly deliberation, Zacarias Moussaoui, the only known and captured 9/11 conspirator, was sentenced to life in prison - not death.
I'm not sure I'm clear on how I feel about this. Apparently not all jurors were sure that he played as big of a role in the attacks as he said he did, given the fact that during the attacks he was in jail on immigration charges. He stated at his sentencing hearing that being put in jail for life was evidence enough that he had won, and indeed, Americans have lost.
Why is it that I feel this is true? That some sort of vindication, some sort of "win" would have been exacted had they decided to execute the only man we known and have in custody for the deaths of over 3,000 people? Somehow him recieving 6 life terms seems comical, our high road that we've taken paved with jokes and pathetic righteousness. The judge stated that "When this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to feel the sun, hear the birds, and they can associate with whomever they want. You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It is absolutely clear who won." Why does it feel like she was simply agreeing with him? That he now lives, birds be damned, instead of dying? When you are faced with death, the fact that you will live is compensation enough, forget birds and sunshine. I don't believe that strength comes in being able to execute somebody - but I do believe that it comes with holding true to a social contract that states that if you kill somebody in a manner so horrific, you know that you will face death - and it is our duty to uphold our end of the contract, and complete the deal. We've failed on our end of the deal.
Everyone is nodding their heads in the solomn belief that we have done the right thing, because now he has to spend his life among the people he hates - Americans.
You know what? There are plenty of Americans to spend time with in hell.
I'm not sure I'm clear on how I feel about this. Apparently not all jurors were sure that he played as big of a role in the attacks as he said he did, given the fact that during the attacks he was in jail on immigration charges. He stated at his sentencing hearing that being put in jail for life was evidence enough that he had won, and indeed, Americans have lost.
Why is it that I feel this is true? That some sort of vindication, some sort of "win" would have been exacted had they decided to execute the only man we known and have in custody for the deaths of over 3,000 people? Somehow him recieving 6 life terms seems comical, our high road that we've taken paved with jokes and pathetic righteousness. The judge stated that "When this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to feel the sun, hear the birds, and they can associate with whomever they want. You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It is absolutely clear who won." Why does it feel like she was simply agreeing with him? That he now lives, birds be damned, instead of dying? When you are faced with death, the fact that you will live is compensation enough, forget birds and sunshine. I don't believe that strength comes in being able to execute somebody - but I do believe that it comes with holding true to a social contract that states that if you kill somebody in a manner so horrific, you know that you will face death - and it is our duty to uphold our end of the contract, and complete the deal. We've failed on our end of the deal.
Everyone is nodding their heads in the solomn belief that we have done the right thing, because now he has to spend his life among the people he hates - Americans.
You know what? There are plenty of Americans to spend time with in hell.
1 comment:
very nicely put!
I am not 100% sure that I am clear on how I feel about it either.
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