Moussaoui jury told Reid did not know of 9-11 plot

By Deborah Charles

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Reuters) – “Shoebomber” Richard Reid
had no advanced knowledge of the September 11 attacks, a jury
was told on Thursday, casting doubt about claims by Zacarias
Moussaoui that Reid was to have joined him in the assault.

A statement indicating Reid was not involved was read by a
defense attorney and agreed to by prosecutors at the sentencing
trial of Moussaoui, who faces possible execution as the only
person convicted in the United States for the September 11
plot.

Moussaoui made a surprise claim last month that Reid was to
have joined him and fly a fifth plane into the White House as
part of a coordinated attack with hijacked airliners.

But Moussaoui’s lawyers have said their client lied about
his role in al Qaeda and September 11, and have argued he is
mentally ill and should not be sentenced to death.

The statement by the defense lawyer was presented after
seven more family members of victims of September 11 testified
of the need to try to understand why the attacks happened and
not to seek retribution.

Alan Yamamoto, one of Moussaoui’s court-appointed lawyers,
read the statement, approved by federal prosecutors who are
seeking to have Moussaoui executed.

“There is no information available to indicate that Richard
Reid had pre knowledge of the 9/11 attacks or was instructed by
the al Qaeda leadership to conduct an operation in coordination
with Moussaoui,” the statement said.

It said that Reid had written a will naming Moussaoui as
the beneficiary of his belongings. The FBI concluded the will
showed that it was “highly unlikely” Reid was to have been part
of the same martyrdom operation as Moussaoui.

Reid failed in an attempt to blow up an American Airlines
plane from Paris to Miami in December 2001 after passengers and
crew tackled him as he tried to ignite explosives in his shoe.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2003.

In testimony last month, Moussaoui said Reid was to join
him as crew when he flew a fifth airplane into the White House
on September 11. In later testimony this month, Moussaoui said
he was friends with Reid but had never talked to him
specifically about the plot.

Moussaoui’s claims contradicted his previous statements
when he pleaded guilty last year. At that time he said he was
not part of the September 11 plot but was meant to be in a
second wave of attacks.

FAMILY MEMBERS DON’T SEEK RETALIATION

For the second day in a row, several family members of
people who died on September 11 testified for the defense.

Lawyers were not permitted to ask the witnesses what
sentence they thought Moussaoui should receive, but many of the
family members spoke of the need to overcome vengeance.

Relatives of two people who died on board United Flight 93,
which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back,
spoke of how they wanted to remember their loved ones.

“I would like to be able to be a voice for reconciliation
in the world,” said Alice Hoglan, whose son Mark Bingham died
on Flight 93. “My son embraced love and inclusiveness.”

Paula Shapiro, a social worker whose son Eric died in the
World Trade Center, said she was working with an organization
that tries to present alternatives to retribution and violence
in response to September 11.

Asked how she wanted her son to be remembered, Shapiro
said: “As someone like me … who values not only being in this
country but also the values of this country.”