So the verdict is in, and Zacharias Moussaoui gets life. I realize this topic has been written about, but I noticed something in the news that I thought was noteworthy. Moussaoui's quote after the trial was, "America. You lost, I won!" Apparantly he clapped his hands as he was led away. Of course, right wing America is going to seize this as an argument for the death penalty, but the fact is, whatever he believes, Moussaoui is wrong. America won, the enemies of freedom lost. More on the flip.
Perhaps the radical right didn't get what it wanted. The worst was not done to an evil man. Nonetheless, a victory was achieved. True impartial justice happened. I must confess, I was shocked. I felt all along that regardless of questions about his eligibility for death, witness tampering, and arguments of mental incompetence, the emotions of the trial would run too high to allow for anything other than a death sentance. I guess I didn't have enough faith in the justice system. In a case involving one of the most traumatic experiences many Americans can remember, its nice to think the twelve ordinary Americans were willing to sit and debate for a week and reach an impartial conclusion, even knowing the conclusion would be unpopular with many Americans.
Moussaoui can belive whatever he feels like believing in the cell he's going to spend the rest of his life in, but the fact is that America won today. In a time when we need it most, we proved that impartial justice can still be a reality, even in trying times.