Alexandria, Va. – Al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui offered last month to testify for prosecutors against himself at his death-penalty trial and told agents that he did not want to die in prison, according to last-minute testimony Tuesday.
The bizarre testimony capped a trial that has seen more than its share of the unusual over three tumultuous weeks. Introduced as part of a brief government rebuttal case, this testimony may be the firmest evidence the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent hopes for martyrdom through execution and could provide fodder for the closing arguments of both prosecutors and defense attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema set closing arguments for this afternoon on whether the actions Moussaoui has admitted make him eligible for the death penalty. The jury must decide whether the only man charged in this country in the Sept. 11, 2001, plot will be executed or imprisoned for life.
On Feb. 2, before jury selection began, Moussaoui offered to testify he was to have hijacked and piloted a fifth plane on Sept. 11. He did not ask that prosecutors stop pursuing the death penalty. He sought only better conditions in prison and a promise not to be called to testify against al-Qaeda members.
