WP: Moussaoui Jurors Ask Judge to Define 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'

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Moussaoui Jurors Ask Judge to Define 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 30, 2006

Jurors asked the judge in the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui today to define the term "weapons of mass destruction" and were told it includes airplanes used as missiles.

The federal jury's request for clarification from U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema came as it began its first full day of deliberations aimed at determining whether the avowed al-Qaeda member is subject to capital punishment for his admitted role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist plot.

After Brinkema explained that airplanes could be considered weapons of mass destruction when used as missiles -- as were the airliners that were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the Sept. 11 attacks -- the jurors resumed their deliberations.

The point is potentially crucial because conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction is one of three federal counts against Moussaoui that carry the death penalty. Moussaoui pleaded guilty to those counts and three others in April 2005.

The jury of nine men and three women began deliberating late yesterday after 10 days of testimony culminating in closing arguments by the prosecution and defense. The jurors are charged with deciding whether Moussaoui, 37, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, is eligible for the death penalty for his role in the al-Qaeda plot to carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. If they conclude that execution applies, they will reconvene for a second phase of the penalty trial to determine whether to actually impose capital punishment or give Moussaoui a life prison sentence with no parole. The second phase would provide an opportunity for people injured on Sept. 11 and the families of those who died to testify about the impact of the attacks....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033000970.html