I lied, Moussaoui says; but guilty plea stands
Detroit Free Press
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Alexandria, Virgenia (US):
Facing life in a so-called supermax prison, convicted Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied in admitting involvement in the Sept. 11 plot, but a judge Monday rejected his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who sentenced Moussaoui on Thursday after a jury spared him a death sentence, paid no heed to his argument that he now recognizes he can get a fair trial in America.
She denied the motion, filed Friday but made public Monday, under a rule barring a defendant from withdrawing a plea once he's been sentenced.
Moussaoui said he testified he was training to fly a hijacked plane into the White House on Sept. 11, 2001, "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."
Moussaoui said he lied because he believed "it was the intention of the American justice system to put me to death."
May 09, 2006
Detroit Free Press
_____________
Alexandria, Virgenia (US):
Facing life in a so-called supermax prison, convicted Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied in admitting involvement in the Sept. 11 plot, but a judge Monday rejected his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who sentenced Moussaoui on Thursday after a jury spared him a death sentence, paid no heed to his argument that he now recognizes he can get a fair trial in America.
She denied the motion, filed Friday but made public Monday, under a rule barring a defendant from withdrawing a plea once he's been sentenced.
Moussaoui said he testified he was training to fly a hijacked plane into the White House on Sept. 11, 2001, "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."
Moussaoui said he lied because he believed "it was the intention of the American justice system to put me to death."
May 09, 2006
