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Today’s USA Today has an op-ed by Carie Lemack–whose mother died in the 9/11 attacks–arguing against the death penalty for Zaccarias Moussaoui.
But her op-ed piece is hardly representative of the majority of 9/11 victims’ family members–at least if you listen to the vast sentiment expressed in other newspapers, and in TV and radio interviews.
Lemack claims that she’s against the death penalty for Moussaoui because he wants to be a martyr for Islam, and we shouldn’t let him. But the end of her piece tells us her real views. She’s against the death penalty.
While we support the death penalty in the most extreme of cases and where the evidence is overwhelming, this is one of those cases. How does any jury justify allowing this man to live, while others who were not part of the murder of 3,000 Americans, meet the chair or the needle? If the death penalty was not meant for this man, it is meant for no-one.

(Bin Laden/Moussaoui Photo from C. Orozco)
Moussaoui knew of the plans to hijack planes and fly them into buildings. He knew of the plans that were about to go down to murder as many Americans as possible and hit the most prominent buildings and sites possible. Yet, he said nothing. In any other case, as an accessory to murder or part of a conspiracy to murder, Moussaoui would be as guilty as his partners who went through with it. Murder doesn’t necessarily mean being the trigger-puller–or in this case the plane hijackers and building-crashing Islamic substitute pilots. If he is allowed to live, it will only signal weakness and send encouragement to the enemy.
Evidence on Moussaoui’s computer made it clear that he was in on the plan enough to know that Americans would die, and he let it happen.
But that evidence also implicates Justice Department officials at the highest levels (ie., Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller). Both, under orders of the President, refused to allow the mining of Moussaoui’s hard drive in the name of not “profiling” Arab Muslims who just so happen to want to learn how to direct planes but not how to take-off or land a la Moussaoui. Had they ignored the urge to be so PC, the info on Moussaoui’s hard drive might have stopped the attacks and certainly shed light on suspicious plans.
As we pointed out, when–last year–Al Qaeda Muslims homicide-bombed Jordanian hotels, including a wedding, over his failure to detect and stop it. No such honor or discipline has occured here. Instead, those who repelled requests to look at Moussaoui’s hard drive remain in place or are now on to even greener pastures. Not a single member of the FBI or the Justice Department has been fired or even slightly demoted over the events of 9/11.
Moussaoui should die for his part in the mass murder of 3,000 innocent American civilians. But when–oh, when?–will anyone in the federal government and law enforcement get some sort of legal penalty for wanton refusal to examine Mr. Moussaoui’s hard drive and his buddies’ 9/11 plans? And please don’t rehash the farce that was the 9/11 Commission.