Zacarias Moussaoui made a scene in court today, and had to be escorted from the courtroom as jury selection began for his sentencing hearing.

Proclaiming "I am al-Qaida," Zacarias Moussaoui was escorted from a federal courtroom in Alexandria on Monday at the outset of jury selection in his terrorist conspiracy trial. As he was removed by federal marshals, he shouted, "This trial is a circus."

The acknowledged al-Qaida conspirator, often a volatile figure in the courtroom, got almost immediately into an argument with U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, demanding "I want to be heard" and saying of his lawyers, "These people do not represent me."

He left with his hands on his head, offering no resistance.

Prospective jurors filed into a heavily guarded federal courtroom Monday as U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema began calling the first prospective jurors from a pool of 500 to fill out questionnaires about their attitudes on the death penalty and knowledge of the case. Jury selection is expected to take a month, a painstaking process that sets the stage for deciding whether the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent is imprisoned for life or put to death.

We donÂ’t need a jury here, simply a judge to impose a culturally sensitive sentence for his crimes.

Public beheading, as is done by al-Qaeda affiliates around the world.

Seems quite appropriate to me.

Posted by: Greg at 12:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 235 words, total size 2 kb.