Most evangelical Christians will usually shy away from
discussing hell as a destination for those they think have rejected
their beliefs — or even for those who have embraced what they
consider an immoral lifestyle — lest they be labeled unloving, or
worse, fanatical.
But as one of those unapologetic Jesus freaks, I don’t think it
bothers too many people, other than the infidel-haters, to state
that Zacarias Moussaoui can’t be cast into the fiery pit fast
enough.
Jurors heard closing arguments yesterday in the sentencing phase
of the trial of the convicted conspirator in the September 11,
2001, terror attacks. The sooner they send him off to a weeping
fate of eternally gnashing his teeth, the better.
During testimony this month in his death-penalty trial,
Moussaoui emphasized the pride he took from his role in the murder
of thousands of Americans that day four-and-a-half years ago.
“Moussaoui calmly and matter-of-factly said that the sobbing
Sept. 11 survivors and family members who testified against him
were ‘disgusting,’ that the testimony of one man who crawled out of
his burning Pentagon office was ‘pathetic’ and that executed
Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was ‘the greatest American,”
the Washington Post reported April 14.
Other exchanges between Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A.
Spencer and Moussaoui:
- Spencer: “You wake up every day to destroy the United States,
don’t you?” Moussaoui: “To the best of my ability.”
- Spencer: “It was your choice to accept a suicide mission from
Osama bin Laden.” Moussaoui: “It was my pleasure.”
- Spencer asked, any regrets? Moussaoui: “There is no regret for
justice.”
- Spencer asked about the testimony of an Army official who fled
his burning Pentagon office. Moussaoui: “It was pathetic. I was
regretful that he didn’t die.”
- Spencer: “You would do it again tomorrow if you could,
wouldn’t you?” Moussaoui: “Today.”
A jury had already found Moussaoui guilty for causing at least one death on Sept. 11, because he
lied to federal investigators the month prior when he was arrested
for breaking immigration laws. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, an
orchestrator of the attacks, testified that Moussaoui was to
participate in a second wave of terror afterwards. Moussaoui
himself denied involvement in the attacks for years until March 27,
when he changed his testimony and said that he and shoe-bombing
Richard Reid were supposed to take control of a 5th airplane.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed that there is no evidence
to support that Reid was involved in a plot with Moussaoui to also
attack that day, but that’s about as good as his attorneys could do
for him. In yesterday’s closing arguments, defense lawyer
Gerald Zerkin argued for jurors not to give Moussaoui the
satisfaction of getting what he wants — that is, martyrdom through
execution.
“He came to America to die in jihad and you are his last
chance,” Zerkin told the jury. Instead, he said, they should
“confine him to a miserable existence until he dies and give him
not the death of a jihadist…but the long slow death of a common
criminal.”
Zerkin didn’t have much else to work with either, saying
Moussaoui shouldn’t be executed because of his incompetence — “the
only al Qaeda operative inept enough to be captured before 9/11.”
More capable murderers like Saddam Hussein might have been easier
to represent.
Actually, Moussaoui’s public defender makes a compelling
argument for satisfying everybody directly involved in the case,
except for a few pacifist family victims. The
convict says he wants to die, and prosecutors want him to die.
Let’s hope the jury grants them both their wishes.
Sound unbecoming and unloving for a self-described born again
Christian? It shouldn’t, for God’s justice brings Him just as much
glory as the bestowal of His mercy:
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be
desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also
than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:9-10)
The Lord tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who
loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals,
fire and brimstone and a burning wind; This shall be the portion of
their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness, His
countenance beholds the upright. (Psalm 11:5-7)
Some — even many of my fellow Christians — might say this fellow
deserves a chance at rehabilitation and the mercy that God has
offered every man. Well, I love a prison conversion story as much
as the next repentant sinner, but in my non-divine judgment,
Moussaoui should get no more than his (I hope short) time on death
row to come to Jesus. His present temperament tells me that is not
likely.
Then strap him in the chair, and off to hell he goes. The
defiant bastard has earned it.
