Atlanta Journal Constitution -10/3/03

A federal judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors must drop the death penalty in the case against accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, the sole person charged in the United States as a conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema also ruled that the government may not present evidence that Moussaoui was involved in the attacks, essentially gutting the main charges against the 34-year-old Frenchman and dealing the prosecution a severe blow.

The sanctions came in response to the government's refusal to present al-Qaida operatives in U.S. custody as witnesses for Moussaoui's defense.

U.S. District Attorney Paul McNulty said the government was studying the court's opinion before deciding how to proceed.

Federal prosecutors could appeal Brinkema's decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond or they could drop the charges altogether and consign Moussaoui to a military tribunal where rules of secrecy favor the government and defendants have fewer rights.

McNulty said the "interests of justice require that the government have the opportunity to prove the full scope of the conspiracy alleged in the indictment, which included the brutal attacks on Sept. 11, 2001."

He also reiterated the government's stance on the witness issue.

"We continue to believe that the Constitution does not require, and national security will not permit, the government to allow Moussaoui, an avowed terrorist, to have direct access to his terrorist confederates who have been detained abroad as enemy combatants," he said in a written statement.