Moussaoui found eligible for death penalty

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Moussaoui found eligible for death penalty (Reuters) Updated: 2006-04-04 07:07 A U.S. jury on Monday found Zacarias Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty, and the convicted September 11 conspirator shouted as he was led out of the court: "You'll never get my blood. God curse you all." Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in connection with the September 11 attacks, is shown in an undated police photograph. [Reuters] The same 12-person federal panel will return on Thursday to begin a second phase of his sentencing trial and decide whether he will be executed for his role in the hijacked airliner attacks or sentenced to life in prison. Moussaoui's sensational outburst as he was led out of the courtroom after hearing the verdict concluded the first phase of the proceedings that have been marked by his shouts after the judge and jury have departed. After about 17 hours of deliberation, the jury found that Moussaoui lied to the FBI following his arrest three weeks before the September 11 attacks and the lies led to deaths in the hijacked airliner attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. "Your findings mean we move on to phase two where the jury ... ultimately (has) to make a final decision as to what sentence will be imposed," said U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema. Moussaoui is the only person to be charged in the United States in connection with September 11. Last year the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy in connection with the deadly hijackings. Three of the counts carried a possible death sentence. Dressed in a green prisoner jumpsuit and white cap, Moussaoui refused to stand when the verdict was read, instead remaining seated and gripping his chair. After hearing the verdict he sat still, with his mouth moving, as if in prayer. MIXED REACTION The verdict sparked smiles, however, from some family members of people who died on September 11, while one woman wiped tears from her eyes. "I thought I would be elated, but I wasn't. Even though Moussaoui made certain negative comments, I still feel sorry for him," said Abraham Scott, whose wife died at the Pentagon on September 11. "I describe him like a dog with rabies, one that cannot be cured." Rosemary Dillard, whose husband Eddie was on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, said Moussaoui deserves the death penalty. "This man has no soul. He has no conscience," she said outside the courthouse. At the second phase of the trial, which is being held just a few miles from the Pentagon, the jury will hear defense lawyers make the case Moussaoui has a mental disorder like schizophrenia, and a troubled childhood, in their bid to prevent the death penalty. Federal prosecutors are expected to present testimony from some of the families of victims from the deadly hijackings. "The defense attorneys in this case will have the almost impossible task of saving someone who does not want to saved. Moussaoui has given the American people an unambiguous target on which to direct our collective need to cast blame for the horror of 9/11," said David Rossman, of Boston University's School of Law. In the initial phase, Moussaoui said he was meant to fly an airplane into the White House on September 11 -- something he had previously denied. He also said he lied to the FBI to help make sure the operation would go on. Prosecutors said Moussaoui's lies prevented the September 11 plot from being discovered, thus leading to the deaths. Moussaoui was in jail on September 11. He was arrested on August 16, 2001, in Minnesota on immigration charges after raising suspicions at a flight school.