US judge delays Moussaoui death penalty trial

[Eugene]

US judge delays Moussaoui death penalty trial
15 Nov 2005 15:09:45 GMT
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered a two-stage
trial to determine whether Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui will
receive the death penalty and also delayed the start of jury selection
by one month, until Feb. 6.

In a series of rulings issued late on Monday and released by the court
on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that the trial
would be split into two parts.

The first phase would be to determine whether Moussaoui intentionally
lied about his knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked airline
attacks.

If the jury determines that he did lie, resulting in the deaths of
nearly 3,000 people, then another phase would be held to see whether or
not Moussaoui should be given the death penalty or life in prison.

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Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N15334936.htm