JURIST - Paper Chase: Moussaoui's life spared by one juror: report

[JURIST] Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive], the convicted Sept. 11 [JURIST news archive] conspirator, was spared the death penalty [JURIST report] by a single member of the jury who remained anonymous throughout the deliberations, according to an article in Friday's Washington Post. The inside information was provided by the jury foreman, a Virginia math teacher speaking on condition of anonymity, who revealed that she had been one of the jurors who voted for the death penalty. The foreman revealed that deliberations nearly collapsed after three days because repeated votes yielded 11-1 results without discussion about the solitary vote for life imprisonment.

Shortly after the verdict a different juror told the newspaper that he had voted for a life sentence [Washington Post report] after concluding that Moussaoui played only a minor role [JURIST report] in the Sept. 11 conspiracy, but he did not reveal jury voting patterns. Moussaoui, who was sentenced [JURIST report] to six consecutive life terms without the possibility of release last week, later moved to withdraw his guilty plea [JURIST report] and requested a new trial, claiming he lied about his involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks; US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema denied the motion [JURIST report]. Read the jury's completed special verdict form [PDF]. Reuters has more.

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