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Lone juror saved Moussaoui from death: report
Reuters via Yahoo! news ^ | May 11, 2006

Posted on 05/11/2006 10:42:18 PM PDT by xjcsa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Zacarias Moussaoui was saved from a death sentence by a single juror who never explained his vote to other members of the jury that sent the September 11 conspirator to prison for life, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The foreman of the 12-person federal jury told the newspaper that the panel voted 11-1, 10-2 and 10-2 in favor of the death penalty on the three charges for which Moussaoui was eligible for execution.

A unanimous vote on any one of the three terrorism charges was required to return a death sentence.

Moussaoui, 37, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, was sentenced on May 4 to spend the rest of his life in prison for his part in the hijacking plot that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The foreman, a Virginia math teacher who contacted the newspaper and spoke on condition of anonymity, said she voted for the death penalty because the government proved its case, the Post reported.

"I felt frustrated," the foreman said, "because I felt that many of us had been cheated by the anonymity of the 'no' voter. We will never know their reason. We will never be able to hold their reason up to the light and the scrutiny of evidence, fact, and law," she said.

She told The Washington Post that deliberations nearly broke down on the third day because of frustrations over repeated 11-1 votes on one charge while no one voiced objections during discussions.

April 26 "was a very intense day," she said. "But there was no yelling. It was as if a heavy cloud of doom had fallen over the deliberation room, and many of us realized that all our beliefs and our conclusions were being vetoed by one person."

Another juror, who spoke to newspaper after the verdict, said he voted for a life sentence because he believed that Moussaoui was a minor figure in the September 11 plot, but he did not reveal how the jury voted.

The foreman said most of the jurors did not give much weight to Moussaoui's testimony and thought some of his actions, including volunteering to testify for the prosecution, were "bizarre."

But she told the newspaper they did not believe the defense argument that Moussaoui was mentally ill.

"I think most of us found Moussaoui to be intelligent, smart, crafty and a great manipulator. Those were the comments that were frequently thrown around the table," she said.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: idioticjuror; jurormisconduct; liberaljuror; moussaoui; stupidjuror; terrortrials
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1 posted on 05/11/2006 10:42:20 PM PDT by xjcsa
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To: xjcsa

That movie "12 Angry Men" strikes again. There is always one.


2 posted on 05/11/2006 10:43:38 PM PDT by Texasforever (I have neither been there nor done that.)
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To: xjcsa
i'll wager all of my worldly possessions that he was a muslim,atheist,or communist
3 posted on 05/11/2006 10:45:05 PM PDT by kinoxi
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To: xjcsa


All it takes is one.


4 posted on 05/11/2006 10:45:31 PM PDT by onyx (Deport the trolls --- send them back to DU)
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To: xjcsa
they should have kept deliberating.
5 posted on 05/11/2006 10:45:48 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: kinoxi
i'll wager all of my worldly possessions that he was a muslim,atheist,or communist

Probably a liberal democrat

6 posted on 05/11/2006 10:46:33 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: kinoxi

oh you did say communist... liberal democrat/communist.. same/same


7 posted on 05/11/2006 10:47:34 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: xjcsa

Sounds like someone was anti-death penalty from the beginning....even though they all said they were willing to pass that out during jury selection.


8 posted on 05/11/2006 10:47:51 PM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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To: Echo Talon

two out of three?


9 posted on 05/11/2006 10:48:11 PM PDT by kinoxi
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To: Sacajaweau
Sounds like someone was anti-death penalty from the beginning....

I'll agree with you on that. There are just too many people now against it, I don't know how they find 12 people for any jury who'll vote for death.

10 posted on 05/11/2006 10:51:49 PM PDT by jazusamo (-- Married a WAC in '65 and I'm still reenlisting. :-)
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To: Echo Talon; onyx
i'll wager all of my worldly possessions that he was a muslim,atheist,or communist

Probably a liberal democrat

I'll vote for all four rolled up into one big wad.

11 posted on 05/11/2006 10:52:21 PM PDT by kstewskis (Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting.)
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To: kstewskis


A male democrat.


12 posted on 05/11/2006 10:54:05 PM PDT by onyx (Deport the trolls --- send them back to DU)
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To: Sacajaweau

My thought exactly.


13 posted on 05/11/2006 10:55:23 PM PDT by RobbyS ( CHIRHO)
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To: onyx
A male democrat.

Is that a sexist statement? :-)

14 posted on 05/11/2006 10:56:03 PM PDT by jazusamo (-- Married a WAC in '65 and I'm still reenlisting. :-)
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To: jazusamo
LOL --- It's all I could garner from the article...

Another juror, who spoke to newspaper after the verdict, said he voted for a life sentence because he believed that Moussaoui was a minor figure in the September 11 plot, but he did not reveal how the jury voted.

15 posted on 05/11/2006 10:58:36 PM PDT by onyx (Deport the trolls --- send them back to DU)
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To: kinoxi

"i'll wager all of my worldly possessions that he was a muslim,atheist,or communist"

Could have been a Christian or a Jew, as well. The Catholic church is against the death penalty, you know.

I expect by the time his days are finished, Zach may have wished he had been executed.


16 posted on 05/11/2006 10:59:37 PM PDT by truth_seeker
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To: Echo Talon; kinoxi; xjcsa

Just like a typical liberal. Torpedoes the death penalty vote, then is too much of a coward to defend their position.

Too bad the sentence cannot be appealed. It's obvious that the defence had a ringer on the jury. That person had their mind made up before the trial even began.


17 posted on 05/11/2006 11:00:38 PM PDT by rock_lobsta
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To: onyx

I knew that. :-)


18 posted on 05/11/2006 11:00:48 PM PDT by jazusamo (-- Married a WAC in '65 and I'm still reenlisting. :-)
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To: rock_lobsta
That person had their mind made up before the trial even began.

afraid so.

19 posted on 05/11/2006 11:01:44 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: kinoxi
two out of three?

LOL

20 posted on 05/11/2006 11:02:34 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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