Death penalty sought for Moussaoui

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department told a court Thursday it will seek the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington.

Moussaoui deserves to die because he helped plot "the largest loss of life resulting from a criminal act in the history of the United States," prosecutors said in a filing with the trial judge in suburban Alexandria, Va.

Moussaoui, 33, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden, the hijackers and others to commit the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people. He is scheduled for trial this fall.

Four of the six counts brought against Moussaoui carry a maximum sentence of death.

The decision came after weeks of deliberations inside the Justice Department and carries international implications, especially in Europe, where the terrorism investigation continues in several countries that oppose capital punishment.

French request

Moussaoui's home country, France, asked Ashcroft not to seek the death penalty and noted the French would not have to cooperate with U.S. authorities on the investigation if the death penalty was invoked.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, visiting in Miami when the court was notified, asked American allies to continue their cooperation despite their misgivings.

The decision didn't surprise Moussaoui's mother, who accused U.S. officials of "looking for someone's head" in the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I was sure," Aicha Moussaoui said in France, referring to the expectation her son would face capital punishment. "My son is a scapegoat. They can't find the people who are truly responsible for this crime."

Moussaoui's lead attorney, Frank Dunham Jr., told reporters that Ashcroft's announcing the death penalty filing at a news conference was "disgraceful conduct" that could prevent selection of an impartial jury.

"I am mystified as to why he feels he has to hold a televised press conference other than to influence the jury pool," said Dunham, federal public defender for eastern Virginia.