Moussaoui Wants To Withdraw Guilty Plea

After being sentanced to life in prison, Zacarias Moussaoui had his lawyers file papers saying he wants to withdraw his guilty plea and be granted a new trial because he lied on the stand about his involvement with the terrorist murderers on September 11, 2001. READ

There's speculation that he is trying to continue having his day in court or that he wanted to receive a death sentance, not life in prison.

I'm sure Moussaoui will not be granted his wishes simply because he pled guilty to the crime.

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema summarily rejected Moussaoui's motion late yesterday, saying federal rules prohibit a defendant from withdrawing a guilty plea after being sentenced. "Because defendant was sentenced on May 4, 2006, his motion is too late and must be denied on this basis alone,'' Brinkema wrote.

Moussaoui can appeal her ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, but legal experts said such appeals are rarely granted and would probably require a grievous legal error by the judge.

While Moussaoui isn't insane in the legal sense, he's certainly a very high maintenance indivual, to say the least.

Even Moussaoui's attorneys acknowledged in a footnote yesterday that their motion could not be granted under federal rules, but they said they were filing it anyway "given their problematic relationship with Moussaoui."

The sentence Moussaoui received was something of an eye-opener for him:

He [Moussaoui] also offered measured praise for the U.S. legal system he has spent the past four years attacking. Moussaoui said he lied on the stand because he assumed he would be executed "based on the emotions and anger toward me for the deaths on Sept. 11.'' But he was "extremely surprised" at the jury's verdict, he said, and now believes "it is possible I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors.''

At first I thought the life in prison sentence was indeed fair. Reading this story I've come to realize Moussaoui's sentence was fair on two levels. First, even though Moussaoui pled guilty, there are some doubts as to how big a role he served. Second, if you receive the death sentance, your case is automaticaly appealed. With a life sentence, it isn't. Thus, disallowing him from having his pulpit, he's really hurting. Plus, he doesn't get all those virgins after death. So sorry, bud.