This combination of undated photos shows, from left: Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Waleed bin Attash, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ramzi Binalshibh. Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. (AP Photos) (AP)
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By DAVID B. CARUSO
The Associated Press
Saturday, November 14, 2009; 12:17 PM
NEW YORK -- The move to put the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind on trial just blocks from ground zero raises a host of legal, political and security questions, chief among them: Can a fair-minded jury be found in a city still nursing deep wounds from the attack on the World Trade Center?
Some also worry that the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will make New York an even bigger terrorist target, and that he will use the proceedings to incite more violence against Americans.
The loudest protests Friday came from relatives of the victims, many of whom oppose any civilian trial for terror suspects - especially at the federal courthouse 1,000 yards from the spot where nearly 3,000 people died.
"If we have to bring them to the United States, New York City is not the place to have it, let alone in a courthouse that is in the shadows of the twin towers," said Lee Ielpi, whose firefighter son died in the 9/11 attacks. The city's wounds, he said, are simply still too raw.
"Ripping that scab open will create a tremendous hardship," he said.
Some city leaders seemed to relish the chance to hold the evildoers accountable at the scene of the crime.
"It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly also said that holding the trial in the city most devastated by the 2001 attack is appropriate, and he pronounced the Police Department prepared to meet any security challenge.
It may be years before Mohammed is brought to trial, and there is no guarantee the proceedings will actually be held in the city.
A defense attorney is almost certain to ask the judge to move the proceedings to someplace less likely to produce a jury tainted by extreme hatred of the defendant, said James Benjamin, a New York City lawyer who has studied terrorism prosecutions.
Still, he added, the city has handled big terrorism cases before.
Trials arising from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and another plot to attack city landmarks were held in federal court in New York.
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Now, I know this is a few days old , but I have just been trying to get my head around this thing, and I still do not understand the logic behind this move. I mean, I think this is more ridiculous than the Obamacare Nightmare, which in and of itself is insane, but this...THIS...just goes beyond all logic and reason.
Now, I want everyone of my readers to know, I am completely 500% in favor of thew 'death penalty'...EXCEPT here...and before you guys start thinking I have gone googatts in the head, let me tell you why.
It is a well known fact, a WELL KNOWN FACT, that these TERRORISTS do not have a problem with 'dying'. They WANT to die, and what is worse, they want us to 'put them to death' at our expense, for us to 'pay for them to die'.
So, what would I do instead, you ask, with that look of unbelief on your faces, which I totally understand, because in a way, I cannot believe myself on this.
Well, here's the thing, how many people died on 9/11? 3,000 or more? Ok, well, sentence them all to a 'LIFE' sentence FOR EACH victim. That is 3,000 LIFE sentences. And, FORCE them to eat PORK 4 times a day, and tell them 'GOD BLESS AMERICA' every 5 minutes.
They want to die? Let them kill themselves, at their own expense, and leave us out of it. Because, even though I would absolutely love, love, LOVE to see them fry in the chair, what purpose would it serve other than justice for our families and friends? It would serve THEIR purpose in 'DYING'. They want to die because they belive they have all these 'virgins awaiting in Heaven' for them.
My 'HOPE' is that they actually have some 'AIDS infested Whores in Hell' awaiting them, which I am very certain is the case, so, that being said, sentence all 5 of them to 3,000 LIFE sentences each, feed them PORK 4 times a day, and say 'GOD BLESS AMERICA' to them every 5 minutes, and let them 'off' themselves.
Because, honestly and personally, I don't want my tax dollars to 'give them the gift of death'. Which is exactly what death is for them--A GIFT.
