As I assume most of you know, The September 11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui is on trail. His lawyers have made a very interesting plea: They asked jurors to sentence his client to life imprisonment rather than give him the martyrdom he seeks through execution.
Now I just want to avoid the question on the validity of the death penalty istelf as a punishment for now, as that's not what interests me about this. I'm not in favor of the death penalty, but that's not really the point I want to make.
What I'm wondering is: How do you punish someone if they actually seek that punishment as a reward? Secondly, and perhaps even weirder, shouldn't a defence lawyer act in the best interest of his client? And if that interest is genuinly to die that martyrs death, then should the lawyer not serve that cause?
I mean the plea in itself isn't strange, if it would have been made by the prosecution. They afterall are seeking a maximum punishment, which in terms of the defendant would probably not be the death penalty. But for the defence council to make this plea... Does that mean it's a trick? Does the client not want to die at all and is this just a tactic to achieve that goal? Or are the lawyers actually working against the clients wishes here, and what implications does this have.
I'm not sure what my opinion on this is yet, but I would welcome any ideas or comments you might have as a consideration.
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