Victim families divided on death penalty for terror suspect Moussaoui

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ Steve Push favors the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui if the 33-year-old French citizen is convicted as a Sept. 11 conspirator. <br><br>Gregory Hoffman does not. <br><br>Terry

Friday, March 29th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ Steve Push favors the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui if the 33-year-old French citizen is convicted as a Sept. 11 conspirator.

Gregory Hoffman does not.

Terry Corio, who usually opposes capital punishment, is for it in this case.

Families of Sept. 11 victims expressed differing views Thursday after the Bush administration said it would seek Moussaoui's execution if the case reaches the penalty phase.

He is the only person charged so far in connection with the hijackings that killed some 3,000 people.

Push, whose wife was killed in the plane that hit the Pentagon, said she and the other victims ``will have no enjoyment of life, and he shouldn't either, assuming he's guilty.''

Push said his support of the death penalty is personal, and not the position of the organization he serves as treasurer, Families of Sept. 11. Its members have differing opinions, he said.

Gregory Hoffman, who lost his twin brother at the World Trade Center, said, ``Your initial gut reaction is kill him, but at the end of the day, what does that mean? I don't think taking a life is the answer. And if they want to be killed and martyred, don't give it to them.''

Terry Corio, whose sister died at the trade center, said she normally opposes capital punishment, but ``in a case as horrible as this ... I want the death penalty.''

Prosecutors in the case asked the families to tell their personal stories of grief and loss since the attacks. Authorities planned to interview family members of victims April 8 in Boston, where the two planes took off that struck the World Trade Center.

Moussaoui should be put to death because he helped plan ``the largest loss of life resulting from a criminal act in the history of the United States,'' prosecutors said in notifying a federal judge in Alexandria of their intentions.

``Zacarias Moussaoui has demonstrated a lack of remorse for his criminal conduct,'' prosecutors wrote in setting up an admittedly novel effort to impose the death penalty against a defendant charged with conspiracy, not murder.

The decision by Attorney General John Ashcroft, a longtime death penalty supporter, had been expected. Still, it touched off immediate criticism from allies in the fight against terrorism who oppose capital punishment.

French officials said Thursday they would continue general cooperation with the United States but would not turn over any documents that could be used to support Moussaoui's execution.

``I regret this,'' French Justice Minister Marylise Lebranchu said of Ashcroft's decision.

In Britain, where execution also is outlawed, a government spokesman said, ``Our position on the death penalty is well known.''

Traveling in Miami, Ashcroft announced his decision in a televised news conference and immediately sought to smooth relations with the allies.

``We ask our counterparts in the international community to respect our sovereignty, and we respect theirs, and to the extent that they can cooperate and help us, we welcome that cooperation,'' he said.

Moussaoui's public defender, Frank Dunham Jr., criticized Ashcroft's news conference as ``disgraceful conduct'' that could prevent selection of an impartial jury this fall.

``I am mystified as to why he feels he has to hold a televised press conference other than to influence the jury pool,'' Dunham said. ``I'll stop short of calling it unethical, but it's close to it.''

Moussaoui's mother in France said she was not surprised by the decision and accused U.S. officials of seeking revenge. ``My son is a scapegoat. They can't find the people who are truly responsible for this crime,'' Aicha Moussaoui said.

Though Moussaoui never boarded one of the hijacked airlines and was already in custody a month before the attacks occurred, prosecutors said there were several ``aggravating factors'' why Moussaoui's conduct warranted a death sentence.

Moussaoui participated in the planning ``knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to a person'' and that ``the crime constituted a reckless disregard for human life,'' U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty charged in his court filing.

The filing cited the killings, the maiming of survivors, the disruption of the economy and the murder of hundreds of New York police officers and firefighters at the World Trade Center.

The government will seek to prove that Moussaoui committed the offenses ``in an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner in that they involved torture and serious physical abuse to the victims,'' McNulty added.

Prosecutors noted Moussaoui mirrored many of the activities of the hijackers. He attended U.S. flight schools and ``enjoyed the educational opportunities available in a free society, for the purpose of gaining specialized knowledge in flying an aircraft in order to kill as many American citizens as possible,'' McNulty argued.