The Zacarias Moussaoui Indictment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Zacarias Moussaoui Indictment - Essay Example A watershed moment in world history, the morning of September 11th 2001 will forever be engrained in the American national psyche. From a political, social and economic perspective, the hijackings of 9/11 were unparalleled in scope and sheer devastation. In a fascinating article entitled â€Å"Measuring the Effects of the September 11 Attack on New York City†, it was estimated that the direct cost of the attack stood at between $33 billion and $36 billion to the city of New York (Bram, Orr & Rappaport 2002). In addition to the direct economic costs associated with terrorism and the threat of further terrorism, 9/11 also had important political ramifications. The USA Patriot Act of 2001 (a contrived acronym meaning Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) was established in the aftermath of September 11th to protect Americans from the threat of future terror on American soil. Controversial from the outset, th e Patriot Act represented a serious departure from established legal norms and prior American jurisprudence with respect to privacy legislation. The United States also wanted culpability for the attacks and sought out anyone, anywhere in the world, whom they could link to this disastrous attack (Chaliland 2007). While all of the hijackers that morning perished in the attacks, one alleged plotter, Zacarias Moussaoui, was arrested and faced criminal charges due to his links to the attacks of 9/11. Accordingly, Moussaoui was charged with conspiring to kill American citizens during the attacks of September 11th and was sentenced to life imprisonment. What did his indictment entail? As the alleged replacement for the 20th hijacker, during Zacarias Moussaoui’s conspiracy trial he initially faced the death penalty and was subject to capital punishment for his alleged crimes. Charged with conspiring with the alleged 9/11