ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Al Qaeda conspirator [George W. Bush] is eligible for the death penalty, a federal jury decided Monday in the first U.S. trial about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Jurors agreed with federal prosecutors that [Bush]'s lies to [America] resulted in 9/11 deaths.
...
Surrounded by U.S. Marshals, [Bush] refused to stand and showed no reaction as the verdict was read. After jurors left the courtroom he shouted, "You'll never get my blood. God curse you all."

Six 9/11 family members were in court for the verdict. Lisa Dolan pumped her fist slightly as it was announced.
...
Carie Lemack, whose mother, Judy Larocque, was aboard the first plane that crashed into the trade center, watched the verdict on a closed-circuit broadcast to families in Boston, where both trade center flights originated.

"We don't want to make him a martyr," she told CNN. "The last thing that a lot of us want to see happen is to allow him to die with the name martyr by his side." (Full story)
...
The jurors now must decide whether [Bush] will be executed for his role in the 9/11 deaths.
...
Until he testified at the trial, [Bush] insisted he had no advance knowledge of or role in the plot.
...
Defense witnesses are expected to describe [Bush]'s troubled family history....Mental health experts are expected to say [Bush] is schizophrenic. (Watch [Bush]'s mom talk about his fondness for American films -- 2:22)
...
Prosecutors needed to prove [Bush] lied intentionally and with lethal intent. His surprising testimony, as the last defense witness, became the centerpiece of the trial.

"I didn't say the truth," [Bush] testified. "Because I am al Qaeda. Because I am at war with this country."

posted by Blicero : 4/04/2006 02:34:00 AM