Cowardice

Only one juror stood between the death penalty and Zacarias Moussaoui and that juror frustrated his colleagues because he never explained his vote, according to the foreman of the jury that sentenced the al-Qaeda operative to life in prison last week.

I’ve ranted about the Moussaoui verdict before, and now I try not to think about it too much or it gets my blood boiling. Then I read this article, and boiling blood is hardly enough to adequately describe how I feel. One vote kept Moussaoui alive, and the person who voted ‘no’ never revealed himself (the votes were anonymous) and thus never explained why he/she voted that way. He/she never defended the vote. No matter how you spin this or in what perspective you look at it, this is nothing short of pure cowardice.

I’m not condemning people who are anti-death penalty. That particular argument in light of our modern day justice system has merits. But if you take a position on something, then take your position and make your argument. Don’t hide behind anonymity like a rat and refuse to acknowledge your vote or your reasoning. Stand up and be proud of your principles. I will always respect someone who believes what they believe and isn’t afraid to make their case for those beliefs. Basically, I have more respect for Moussaoui than I do for the one juror who kept him alive. That one juror is a perfect symbol of the biggest threat to America. It’s not the Islamo-fascists, those people could be squashed quickly and easily. The biggest threat we face are the large percentage of Americans who lack the resolve to do what must be done. If our country falls, it will be because of people like this one juror.

I’ve said before that as a true enemy of this country, Moussaoui represents a threat. As long as he breathes, that threat continues. Any terrorist organization can use his imprisonment to carry out some attack, take hostages and demand his release. Suppose some of those hostages are murdered when we refuse to release him. Or even worse, suppose someone like this lone juror is calling the shots and actually agrees to release the man. There is no reason to keep him alive, and if there is then it should be argued. The fact that this person refused to even acknowledge his/her vote should have deemed that vote invalid.

I wonder if this jury represents an accurate reflection of America. Are 1 in every 12 Americans lacking in courage? That would translate into 25 million Americans who have no guts. Scary. Even worse, judging by the lack of outrage at this verdict, I would say 25 million is probably an underestimation. This spells doom for our country. If that were the case in 1941, then we’d all be speaking German right now and saluting the swastika. How long until we are bowing down to Allah?