9/11 and the death penalty: perspective from a victim's sister
Americans are remembering the horrific events that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001. The newspapers are full of the pundits and politicians, pontificating about what this sombre "anniversary" means.Instead of adding our voices to the din, we will reprint the words of Terry Rockefeller. Terry's sister died in the North tower of the World Trade Center five years ago. As a board member with Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, Terry has a long history of opposing the death penalty. She wrote the following column in May, after terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was spared from a death sentence:
"My sister, Laura Rockefeller, died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. As a long-time opponent of the death penalty, a belief even this devastating personal tragedy has not altered, I am relieved by the jury's decision not to sentence Zacarias Moussaoui to death.
"Had the jury sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to death we would have turned a man with long-term mental health problems, whose direct responsibility for the 9/11 attacks are tenuous, into a martyr. Evidence introduced during the trial cast significant doubt on Moussaoui's importance within al Qaeda. Three far higher ranking al Qaeda leaders are in U.S. custody overseas. The people of America would learn far more about how the 9/11 attacks were carried out if they were brought to trial.
"I have long been opposed to the death penalty, holding deep concerns about its unequal application. And the finality of execution, when we do discover, sometimes only after many years, that an individual has been wrongly convicted fills me with grief. But most fundamentally, I oppose the death penalty because I do not want to be the citizen of a state that kills. I do not want to be a party to more violence and killing. I believe abolition of the death penalty - even in cases like this - to be in keeping with the progress of an enlightened civilization.
"As the sister of a victim, I want truth and justice. I want everything about the hijackers to be fully and openly investigated in transparent, public proceedings. I want the hijackers' accomplices and financial supporters identified and tried in open courts. I want our government to work in concert with other nations, to adopt policies and to take actions that promote the rights and security of people throughout the world. The United States' reliance on capital punishment makes international cooperation in the war on terrorism more difficult since nations of the European Union, where prosecutions of al Qaeda terrorists are proceeding, will not extradite suspects to our country.
"The sheer horror of 9/11 may in some people's minds seem an obvious justification for the state's executing all those who were responsible, including Zacarias Moussaoui. I wish to convey most forcefully my and my family?s opposition to the death penalty in all cases.
"My sister Laura was an actress and a singer. She had a beautiful, clear, soprano voice and a warm, wonderful laugh. Laura loved living in New York City where she found a variety of jobs in the theatre - performing off-Broadway, touring with national theatre companies, directing and producing new plays. But on the morning of September 11th Laura reported for work at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center where she had a two-day job helping to run a seminar on risk assessment and information technology. I didn't learn that she was there until late in the afternoon when one of her friends telephoned with the devastating news.
"I grieve Laura's death every day, but if 9/11 had made me change my beliefs about the death penalty I would have lost not only my sister; I would have lost the bond I feel with the cause of advancing human rights throughout the world. That is a price I will not pay."
Source: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Posted by Krista, No Death Penalty WI
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