The jury in the Moussaoui case apparently deadlocked on whether or not he should get a visit with The Silver Needle, so Moussaoui got life without parole, instead.
The Media immediately began a beautiful demonstration of one of my pet peeves: everyone interviewed thinks that Life Without Parole means he won’t ever get out of prison.
“He will be in confinement, he will not be released and we can all take pleasure or gratitude in that. He’s a bad man,” said Rosemary Dillard
“He’s going to be in jail for the rest of his life, which is exactly what this man deserves,” said Carie Lemack
“Moussaoui, 37, will likely spend the rest of his years in the “Supermax” facility in Florence, Colo” according to the Fox News drone who posted the above story.
*sigh*
Life Without Parole — or LWOP — is never that. Especially in a case like Zacarias Moussaoui.
Aside from the obvious — a LWOP prisoner has the ability to escape, while an inmate who’s pushing up daisies ain’t liable to — there are other avenues available by way of the Constitution.
An inmate who is serving a Life Without Parole Sentence is still eligible to be pardoned or have his sentence commuted by the Chief Executive. That’s either the Governor of the State, or the President in Federal cases like Moussaoui’s.
Folks will tell you that pardons and commutations hardly ever happen. Actually, some will tell you that pardons and commutations never happen to LWOP inmates, but that’s a blatant lie.
Debra Jenner-Tyler was convicted and sentenced by a jury to Life Without Parole for the crime of stabbing her three-year-old daughter to death. When she confessed to the crime to then South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow —
Let me repeat that —
when she confessed to stabbing her three year-old daughter to death to the Governor —
Governor Bill Janklow commuted her sentence to 100 years and eligibilty for parole.
She’s been applying for parole ever since. One of these days she’s going to get a sympathetic board member and she’ll get paroled.
Life Without Parole, my ass.
There are many other little quiet scenarios just like this one throughout the nation — and worse.
Remember Willie Horton? Sentenced to Life Without Parole, he was granted a furlough — F.U.R.L.O.U.G.H. As in: he walked out the prison door after promising to be back later — by then Governor Dukakis.
A stunt the good governor later regretted, because Mr. Horton took the furlough as an opportunity to commit rape and thus sink Gov. Dukakis’s future White House aspirations.
“But LawDog,” I hear you say, “Surely no sitting president is going to commute, pardon or furlough someone tied to the 9-11 attacks.”
Allow me to introduce you to the shadowy world of international politics and the even-murkier world of counter-terrorist operations. If releasing Zacarias Moussaoui will score us points, gain us a ally, aid a negotiation, or develop intelligence, then he’ll quietly walk out those prison doors.
Parole Moussaoui in exchange for intel? Commute his sentence to grease negotiations with a potential ally? Hell, yes, a sitting President will do that.
Anyone who doesn’t think so is an innocent who should not be allowed to walk down an Istanbul street without a minder.
And all of this doesn’t include folks deciding that Zacarias Moussaoui is a heee-ro, and a thus a reason for doing those time-honoured things that radicals do to free their heroes: hi-jackings, hostage-takings, coercion, blackmail, the usual fun things.
Zacarias Moussaoui should have been released on bail, and then quietly shot in the back of the head or had his throat cut by person or persons unknown in a mugging gone wrong that evening.
A dead Moussaoui gets a parade and nice little memorials in mosques around the wrold.
A live Moussaoui is a Hero of the Intifada, and a lovely poster-child for the next raving fanatic to use as an excuse to hi-jack, sky-jack, ship-jack or otherwise take hostages to bargain for his release.
*sigh*
Like I said, now the fun starts.
LawDog
‘Dog,
I hope that today’s rant indicates you are feeling better. I don’t have any medicine recommendations or home remedies to offer. You are a man fully growed, I figure that’s between you, your Doc and your Mama.
I wish I didn’t have to agree with you on the possibility of this rat bat^ard ever receiving a pardon or parole, but I must. Those lying, thieving whores elected to office will do anything for political expediency, including negotiating with terrorists. We really could take a lesson from the Israelis playbook: “You don’t negotiate with terrorists. You wait until they are sleeping in their beds, and you slit their lying throats”.
Now I’m off my soapbox for tonight.
Get better, ‘Dog. BTW, do you read these comments?
Hugs,
Holly
With any luck, someone in the prison population will stick a shive in the SOB’s side.
Stupid jury.
BTW, do you read these comments?
Of course. I don’t often reply to them, but I always read them.
Hugs,
Ian
PS.
I’m thinking of being in y’alls area late May. I’ll call before I leave.
Ian
Just consider the joy that could be brought down upon him in general population…
LawDog, considering that in the federal system there is no parole, and he will be sentenced under federal guidlines, unless a sitting president releases him, he will be behind bars. Now, will a sitting president release him? I don’t know.
Enemy combatants should be treated as such. We didn’t even have to prove it, he proudly proclaimed he was an enemy combatant.
What do you do with enemy combatants captured in allied territory acting out of uniform?
Summary execution as a spy is the customary punishment.
Well, at least we can hope for a Jeffery Dahmer incident (I have it on good authority his death was no-where near as “clean” as official reports suggest).
I find myself missing the Barbary Coast Vigilance Committee.
There’s a rumor circulating that prisoners do NOT like 1) Child-rapists, and 2) People who committed an act of war against the USA.
Any truth to that?
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the swastika crowd doesn’t decide to do a number on him…
Well Mr. LawDog, you’ve called it again. The maneuvering has already started according to Captain Ed(?) Here’s a URL in ‘tinyURL format to the Captain’s Quarters Blog with further details for anyone who might be interested:
http://tinyurl.com/meg5h
One word: OUCH!
Dog,
You opened a possibility I never conceived. I too was hypnotized by the media into thinking Life Without Parole meant he would sit behind steel bars until he died. In today’s society it wouldn’t be too extraordinary to see some of this “fun” you have mentioned become reality.
I can only hope the corrupt monsters in our justice system’s max-security facilities rape and slander this worthless SOB to give him the justice he deserves…a justice no court can give!
~Tim
A shank soaked in bacon grease. And I pray that the man that does it informs him of that tidbit before the eyes glaze over.
BUT, not before he’s introduced to his new wife, “Bubba.”
He might escape??? There’s almost an opportunity there – if the inconspicuous microchip implants capable of being tracked by radio at long distances that some paranoics talk about actually existed. Plant a tracer on him, leave a door open, wait for him to find some friends, and send over a B52. He gets what he deserves, and so do his buddies…
Seriously, I think what happened was that he convinced the jury he wanted to die, and they weren’t about to assist a suicide and make him happy. He’s supposed to be kept isolated from the other prisoners to prevent violence like some have been talking about – and in the long run, that’s crueler than death, if it really happens. Of course, the system slips up now and then (as with Dahmer). Somebody really ought to let him know that’s a possibility, say, by reminding him with every meal brought to him. 😉 If they remember to keep bringing the meals, that is…
Y’know I like shooter’s “bacon soaked shiv” idea. I hope Bubba’s last name is Rubenstein, tho. Just another Jewish Gangster doin’ federal time and a public service. BWAHAHAHAHa!!!!!!!
The funny bit is that he’ll be in the same section as the shoe bomber Reid, as well as the Unabomber. (they call it bomber row.)
Yea a bacon grease soaked shiv would be nice, so would SPAM and ONLY SPAM for every meal. It would be nice if one of the skinheads or a jewish gangster were to do him in prison, it’s just sad that we as a society wouldn’t be able to reward them for thier good deed.
I read in a mid-60’s Life Magazine (ask yer parents) that a successful interrogation technique used on Viet Cong POWs was to tell them that if they provided useful intel, they would be shot and their picture and military story put in the paper. And if they did not provide useful intel, they would be run over by a truck outside a Saigon whorehouse, and then that picture and story would be put in the paper. The true believers frequently provided intel on their comrades in order to avoid an inglorious fate.
Hi Law Dog,
My understanding is he was convicted under Federal charges, and thus can only be released by a sitting president, so he may actually do life. Also, he is supposed to be in 23-hour lockdown and his one free hour will be solitary exercise. I hope that makes you feel better.
–The Next to Last Samurai
Well, the waiting game is on.
I say release him and pass on to the good people he associates with how wonderful and cooperative he was.
In regard to the Debra Jenner-Tyler case. She was innocent. (personal friend)
Now I have a personal question for you. If you were put in jail for life without parole and you’ve served 15 years knowing full well that you didn’t do it. And then they tell you all you have to do is admitt to it and they’ll let you go on parole would you? I mean you can be with your family again; your husband and son. You can see your grandkids grow up. What would you do? It’d be VERY easy to lie.
And honestly I think no matter what you’d really admitt the murder. But ya know, we haven’t been there. We haven’t been in jail for 15 years for something we didn’t do. We don’t know how much she wanted to get out.
The government in South Dakota is corrupt anyway. Ranked 7th most corrupt government in this country. You need to do a little more research before making your posts.
Thank you.
Debra Jenner pleaded for DNA for 16 years, but denied. Her family was willing to pay for it. She was forced to plead guilty because the state would not allow her DNA testing in the last 16 years. What would you do if you were innocent and no one would give you DNA testing? You would probably do what she did confess to a crime she did not do.
I don’t care how long I was in prison….wild horses couldn’t drag a confession out of me that I savagely murdered my baby girl… when I DIDN’T DO IT!!?? There is no possible way I could ever even THINK about doing something like that, much less confess in a 12 page, typed, confession to all the horrific details of this murder. She was way to detailed and specific for it to be a confession of convenience in order to get out of prison. I don’t see how anyone could admit to killing their daughter when they didn’t do it. NO WAY, EVER! I’m shocked that anyone would think that a normal, sane person could do that!