Posted on 04/06/2006 10:34:20 AM PDT by areafiftyone
B>Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani has described seeing the horror of the 9/11 attacks on the city's twin towers.
He told the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui that he was unwilling to believe people were jumping from the buildings until he saw it with his own eyes.
The jury has to decide whether the self-confessed al-Qaeda member should be executed. Mr Giuliani is testifying for the prosecution.
The court will also hear from relatives of some of those killed in the attacks.
Mr Giuliani told the jury the image of two people jumping together from the World Trade Center, holding hands, stuck with him every day, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Describing the moment he saw people falling, he said: "I froze. I realised that in a couple of seconds, it switched my thinking and emotions. I said 'We're in uncharted territory'."
The human and emotional costs of the attacks, when hijacked planes were deliberately flown into New York's twin towers and the Pentagon, are taking centre stage at the trial.
On Monday, jurors said Moussaoui could face the death penalty. He is the only man to be charged in the US in connection with the 9/11 attacks.
The 37-year-old French citizen has pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to attack the US.
During Mr Giuliani's testimony, the jury was played video clips of people jumping from the twin towers, the AFP news agency reported.
Close-up shots of the planes crashing into the buildings were also shown to the court.
Cockpit tape
Prosecutors are also said to be planning to read out the names of the 2,972 victims of the attacks, and show their pictures in court.
Before Mr Giuliani took the stand, prosecutor Robert Spencer told jurors they would hear from families of the victims.
He said that evidence "will be all you need in this case to sentence the defendant to death", AFP reported.
But defence lawyer Gerald Zerkin urged the jury to remain open to "the possibility of a sentence other than death", according to the Associated Press agency.
On Wednesday, Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that a cockpit recording from the hijacked airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania could be played in the courtroom.
It is unclear whether the tape - which has so far only been played to victims' relatives - will be publicly released.
The judge has given relatives of the Flight 93 victims until Tuesday to request the audio be kept from the general public.
But she has said that if there were no objections, the recording will be released to the public the day after it is submitted as evidence.
Prosecutors want to use the recording to show the jury how passengers were treated by 9/11 hijackers.
The defence is expected to argue that Moussaoui suffers from mental illness and had a difficult childhood.
And I wonder what would have happened if law-abiding Americans had the right of concealed carry on a domestic flight that day?
Maybe things would have turned out the same, but maybe not.
I don't think Rudy gets if when it comes to the 2nd Amendment, and possibly he never will.
Every American should see this. I lived 30 miles NW of Ground Zero, and I specifically went to NYC to see the wreckage. It was totally surreal! 40 stories of rubble of twisted steel and concrete. My wife and I bought every magazine covering the attack; and these periodicals are prominently displayed in my den.
Your comments about the ex-Mayor are bizarre. What makes you think Guiliani talks like a Soprano? He's nothing like that, being very personable in social settings (the only times I've met him). He's a cultured individual.
And Guiliani's stoic leadership on 9/11 was remarkable. His example certainly managed to calm my near hysteria on that terrible day.
And p.s.: How can anyone forget the Mayor throwing Arafat out of the Metropolitan Opera based on nothing more than he didn't like the creep and didn't want him sullying his beloved opera house.
That seems a little over the top to me. It's not going to change the minds of the jury, judge, or defendant. I assume it would take a few hours to read this many names. Maybe it would make sense at Bin Laden's trial. Perhaps the family members are insisting on it, but IIRC they read the list every year at the memorial.
That is a little strange. But I guess whatever it takes to fry this bastard!
Too few know anything about the man. Furthermore, I was in MI on 9/11/01. The feedback I got from the folks in The Heartland was, "Well, it's NY. Who cares?" Even the folks in the taverns where there were TVs showing the carnage, no one paid any attention; they just ordered another drink.
You know, every single time I read or hear about those two people my chest starts to tighten up and my eyes start to tear.
What a horrible, terrible, powerful image.
You must apply your talents to reading more carefully.
I happen to adore this Mayor.
I offered an opinion about his "persona" as I believe middle Americans view him and New Yorkers.
I have issues with Rudy (2nd Amendment), but he's one tough man. His resume is very impressive. Much more so than Clinton or Carter.
The defence is expected to argue that Moussaoui suffers from mental illness and had a difficult childhood.
I get soooooooooooooo tired of hearing this excuse for so many people who are on trial..... This is no excuse for what they all did!
Like yates, killing her children etc....
Do you live in the "Heartland"?
That's a sad account, Cob. I was in California. We ,or the folks I ran into reacted in horror and anger.
We saw our innocent brothers and sisters dying before our horrified eyes.
People in MI who were in bars at that hour must have been in "the bag" by then. Let's see? That would have been about 8:15AM? Future AA members I hope.
Many of us still weep about the images we've been subjected to. I wear a NYFD tee shirt at my gym as tribute to those incredibly brave people who went to thier deaths without question...that may seem stupid to some...I do not care what it seems...I know what it means.
As for Guiliani, his haters should give it a rest when it comes to his leadership on 9-11.
Well that's the feedback from most Freepers when it comes to posts about NYC. But on 9/11 I have to admit all Freepers were as one angry and shocked voice and for a brief period in time cared about NYC and New Yorkers and we New Yorkers felt the love and companionship. And if anything happened to New Yorkers again Freepers will be as one voice again! But those people who you described in the Heartland who didn't care on 9/11 are not human beings!
It was at lunchtime, not in the morning.
It was at lunchtime where I observed this, not in the AM.
Hi! (For starters,anyone who's friends with Peaches is pretty allright with me...soul mates maybe)
Heartland?. No/Yes. Born and raised. But lived all over the US. Out in Calif. these days. You challenging my "feel" for what the good folks in Ashtabula Ohio might be thinking?
I live in the Heartland and can assure you NO ONE felt that way. The first reaction was fright, then anger, then how can we help? People drove a thousand miles to help their fellow Americans (not New Yorkers) out. We knew we were all in this together. I don't know who you saw in the bar that day, but I can assure you, it was NOTHING like that.
...and what about the Children of September who are having difficult childhoods because of the terrorist actions.
I will save my pity for those children.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.