Post by sclcookie on May 28, 2006 15:31:17 GMT -5
May 3, 2006
Statement of 9/11 Family Member Terry Rockefeller on life sentence for Zacarias Moussaoui
Contact: Robert Hoelscher, (512) 470-1387
Terry Rockefeller and other 9/11 family members who oppose the death sentence for Zacarias Moussaoui are available for comment.
Contact Robert Hoelscher at 512-470-1387
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On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Terry Rockefeller?s sister Laura died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Terry was among the dozen 9/11 family members to testify for the defense in the punishment phase of the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. The federal rules regarding victim statements significantly restricted what Terry and others could say on the stand, and the attorneys for the defense asked Terry and others not to speak to the press until after the jury returned their verdict.
Terry is a member of the Board of Directors of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, the nation's oldest organization of murder victim family members who oppose capital punishment. She is a documentary film maker based in Boston.
Below is Terry's statement on the jury's decision to sentence Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison.
To speak with Terry contact Robert Hoelscher, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, (512) 470-1387.
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"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:
www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/pressRelease.jsp?press_release_KEY=174
Statement of 9/11 Family Member Terry Rockefeller on life sentence for Zacarias Moussaoui
Contact: Robert Hoelscher, (512) 470-1387
Terry Rockefeller and other 9/11 family members who oppose the death sentence for Zacarias Moussaoui are available for comment.
Contact Robert Hoelscher at 512-470-1387
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 Terry Rockefeller?s sister Laura died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Terry was among the dozen 9/11 family members to testify for the defense in the punishment phase of the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. The federal rules regarding victim statements significantly restricted what Terry and others could say on the stand, and the attorneys for the defense asked Terry and others not to speak to the press until after the jury returned their verdict.
Terry is a member of the Board of Directors of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, the nation's oldest organization of murder victim family members who oppose capital punishment. She is a documentary film maker based in Boston.
Below is Terry's statement on the jury's decision to sentence Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison.
To speak with Terry contact Robert Hoelscher, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, (512) 470-1387.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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:
www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/pressRelease.jsp?press_release_KEY=174