Random Thought About MoussaouiIsn't it at least arguable that the decision of the jury in the Moussaoui case, while rejecting the death penalty for him, at least validates the concept of the death penalty in general?
After all, if the jury in that case, the first prosecution of anybody involved with 9-11, declined to put this admitted co-conspirator to death, can it really be argued that juries impose capital punishment lightly?
I'm of two minds on the death penalty. On an intellectual level, my left brain does not like giving the state the power of life and death. But to my right brain, there are some crimes for which no other punishment seems adequate. Timothy McVeigh and Tookie Williams both amply deserved their fate.
Update:
Allah links to the filled-in
juror questionairre (PDF warning) which raises some serious questions in my mind:
How in the world do you find Moussaoui's actions responsible for causing maiming, disfigurement and permanent disability to folks who survived the offense, but not responsible for the deaths of 3000 people? Unless there is a quibble here over the exact death toll, that is just a bizarre conclusion.
