September 10, 2009 1:33 PM
- Text
Moussaoui Judge: It's Clear Who Won
(CBS/AP)
U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema sent Zacarias Moussaoui to prison for life Thursday, to "die with a whimper," for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He declared: "God save Osama bin Laden, you will never get him."
Brinkema and the unrepentant Moussaoui capped the two-month trial with an intense exchange that will mark the defendant's last public words before his incarceration.
The prison likely to be Moussaoui's new home is one of the highest maximum-security lockups in the country.
The Administrative Maximum in Florence, Colorado, claims it holds the "most violent, disruptive and escape prone inmates" in the prisons system.
Officials note the $60 million, 490-bed facility hasn't had a single escape or serious attempt since it was built in 1994. The jail already holds about 400 of the highest-risk prisoners.
The prison's more infamous inmates include: Theodore Kaczynski (the "Unabomber"), Richard Reid (the "Shoe Bomber"), Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics and exploded a bomb in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics, Omar Abdel-Rahman, involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Terry Nichols, convicted for his involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Cells range from a little more than 76 square feet to a little more than 86 square feet. Each offers a bed, shower, sink, toilet, metal mirror and television or radio.
Jail windows face interior courtyards and offer no view of the outside world.
A day earlier, a jury rejected the government's case to have Moussaoui executed, deciding instead to send him to prison for life without a chance of parole. Not all jurors were convinced that Moussaoui, who was in jail on immigration charges Sept. 11, had a significant part in the attacks, despite his boastful claims that he did.
Brinkema firmly refused to be interrupted by the 37-year-old defendant as she disputed his claim that his life sentence meant America had lost and he had won.
"Mr. Moussaoui, when this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to see the sun ... hear the birds ... and they can associate with whomever they want," she said.
She went on: "You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It's absolutely clear who won."
"Mr. Moussaoui, you came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory," she said, "but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper."
At that point, Moussaoui tried again to interrupt her, but she raised her voice and spoke over him.
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
Brinkema sentenced Moussaoui to six life terms without the chance of parole.
She informed him of his right to appeal the sentence and said she would ask his court-appointed lawyers to file the required notice as a precaution before relieving them from the case. "I believe it would be an act of futility," she said of an appeal, "but you do have a right."
Brinkema and the unrepentant Moussaoui capped the two-month trial with an intense exchange that will mark the defendant's last public words before his incarceration.
The prison likely to be Moussaoui's new home is one of the highest maximum-security lockups in the country.
The Administrative Maximum in Florence, Colorado, claims it holds the "most violent, disruptive and escape prone inmates" in the prisons system.
Officials note the $60 million, 490-bed facility hasn't had a single escape or serious attempt since it was built in 1994. The jail already holds about 400 of the highest-risk prisoners.
The prison's more infamous inmates include: Theodore Kaczynski (the "Unabomber"), Richard Reid (the "Shoe Bomber"), Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics and exploded a bomb in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics, Omar Abdel-Rahman, involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Terry Nichols, convicted for his involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Cells range from a little more than 76 square feet to a little more than 86 square feet. Each offers a bed, shower, sink, toilet, metal mirror and television or radio.
Jail windows face interior courtyards and offer no view of the outside world.
A day earlier, a jury rejected the government's case to have Moussaoui executed, deciding instead to send him to prison for life without a chance of parole. Not all jurors were convinced that Moussaoui, who was in jail on immigration charges Sept. 11, had a significant part in the attacks, despite his boastful claims that he did.
Brinkema firmly refused to be interrupted by the 37-year-old defendant as she disputed his claim that his life sentence meant America had lost and he had won.
"Mr. Moussaoui, when this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to see the sun ... hear the birds ... and they can associate with whomever they want," she said.
She went on: "You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It's absolutely clear who won."
And she said it was proper he will be kept away from outsiders, unable to speak publicly again.
Legal Analysis: Jury Hits The Mark
Court Document: Read The Verdict
"Mr. Moussaoui, you came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory," she said, "but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper."
At that point, Moussaoui tried again to interrupt her, but she raised her voice and spoke over him.
"You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending."
Brinkema sentenced Moussaoui to six life terms without the chance of parole.
She informed him of his right to appeal the sentence and said she would ask his court-appointed lawyers to file the required notice as a precaution before relieving them from the case. "I believe it would be an act of futility," she said of an appeal, "but you do have a right."
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