Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was given life in prison by a jury of his peers. Moussaoui was said to be involved in the planning of the September eleventh attack on the Twin Towers, Pentagon and Washington. Some Americans are pleased with the verdict of life in prison while others anticipating a verdict of death were disappointed. To convict Moussaoui of a crime of this magnitude the prosecution used emotional pleas with video and testimony of the families of the victims. To convict someone of a crime the mitigating factors should solely rely on facts and not emotion fueled by the loss of loved ones. September eleventh was a tragic day that will stay in the minds of the Americans that experienced that pivotal moment in American history. After the attack on America the rights of Americans were put under attack as well by the federal government. George Bush used September eleventh as a tool to cover his lies and deception to go to war and strip away our civil rights. The fact that the jury had to judge a man that was not actively involved in a crime but had knowledge of it is absurd. It is the same as you knowing that your friends are committing a crime but do not participate. After the criminals get away the police come to apprehend you because they have no way of convicting the real criminals. Using emotion to place someone in jail for life is a travesty. I could understand if the Prosecution tried Moussaoui for conspiring but that does not warrant life in prison or death. To hear family members call Moussaoui an Al-qaida wanna-be and state that he had limited knowledge of the events that occurred the fateful day in September is troublesome. If Moussaoui can be tried for a crime that he did not participate in what stops any of us from being tried for crimes we did not commit? One must look at this objectively and academically to truly appreciate the weight of this matter. The federal government failed in all areas to do its job on September eleventh. A few of the hi-jackers were detained at airports but released shortly after to carry out their planned destruction. Instead of taking blame for the acts of September eleventh and the failed attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden the Bush administration with his professional cover-up team would like you to think its all Bill Clintons fault for not capturing Bin Laden while in office. Moussouai is nothing but a fall guy to distract from the Bush administrations failure to competently protect and function properly. How does one expect a government to function properly when cabinet members continually resign from posts? The chickens are fleeing the coup as the proverbial ship sinks around George Bush. No longer does the public believe his high priced spin masters and his administration now admits many failures the public previously claimed. France has asked the U.S to extradite Moussaoui and try him in their courts because he is a French citizen. The U.S is balking at the idea and wants to keep Moussaoui in the U.S. What victory is won with the hallow conviction of Moussaoui? Are we safer now than before September eleventh? Does his meaningless conviction bring closure to the families of the victims? If one answers yes to the latter then one isn�t looking for closure but transference of pain. It is true that Moussaoui attended flight school and hated America, but when was it a crime to hate America? I cannot find the memo that requires full unconditional love of our country. There are many areas that need improving in our country but to express that dislike is not a crime. The fact that Moussaoui didn�t participate and didn�t have knowledge of the dates or times is like choosing someone from the street and convicting them because they were close to the site of the tragedy. If one is a believer of justice then one has to feel disgust at the abuse of the judicial system by zealots that chose symbols rather than justice. What the Moussouai trial does is warns the public that anyone is vulnerable to spiteful scapegoating. If the government can�t find the right person or persons responsible for a crime they will get the next best thing and it could be you.