[Prudence]

I think the government was foolish to go for the death penalty anyhow. If they succeeded, there was risk his death would potentially have made him a martyr. If the did not succeed, they "lose." If it were my decision, I would never have sought the death penalty and made it clear that he was "too insignificant" to merit that. We're used to prosecutors seeking the highest punishment possible without necessarily expecting to get it, but in other cultures that it seems to me that might be perceived as losing face, which we are apparently supposed to be concerned about when international affairsare concerned. What was so wrong with accepting his guilty plea, sentencing him to life, and taking away his soapbox?

Anyhow, what annoys me is reporting that says "the jury was not convinced that Moussaoui deserved to die." Of course he deserves to die, and it would be really super if a chunk of frozen airplane "ice" could crush his skull during some period of transport or another, but that does't mean the government successfully proved its case on whatever specific issue the jury was considering. I think he deserves to die, but I wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction. Of course, I'm probably the only person who quibbles with this characterization of the jury, so I'll go back to refusing to acknowledge that he exists.