Asked by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema if prosecutors had promised him the possibility of a lighter sentence for his admission, Moussaoui said no. Then he added, "I don't expect any leniency from the Americans." Brinkema accepted the plea, making the French citizen the lone person convicted in a U.S. court in connection with the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. While a sentencing phase still must come, the hearing brought a dramatic conclusion to a bizarre three-year legal battle during which the mercurial Moussaoui insulted Brinkema, tried to fire his lawyers and once asked to plead guilty only to change his mind a week later.
| Three years of legal wrangling on an open and shut case. I'm ashamed of the American legal system. |
I'd like to see his ass deep fried, but that won't happen. At least this spares us from the 21st century version of the Colin Ferguson trial.