ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Declaring himself neither insane nor delusional, Zacarias Moussaoui told the jury in his sentencing trial Thursday that he had "no regret, no remorse" for the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, and he appeared not to care whether he lived or was put to death.
Moussaoui, testifying for the second time, also repeated his deep hatred for Americans and predicted another major terrorist attack on U.S. soil before the end of President Bush's term. He said the strike would be so catastrophic that the government would be forced to release him from prison.
"I fight," he said. "And God will help me and free me."
The 37-year-old Al Qaeda terrorist occupied the witness stand for nearly three hours. In his lap he fingered his worn copy of the Koran, sometimes flipping the pages to read a verse to the jury that he had marked with Post-it notes.
As in his testimony last month, Moussaoui offered little to help save his life. But this time he gave a much starker impression of a man so filled with hate that he might be mentally ill, as his lawyers contend.
If the jury agrees, he could be spared the death penalty.
Moussaoui was arrested three weeks before Sept. 11, and last year pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy that spawned the strikes on New York and Washington. Last week, the jury concluded that he was eligible for the death penalty because he could have prevented the attacks by alerting the FBI.
The current phase of the trial is to decide whether he deserves the death penalty. To establish that, the jury must find that Moussaoui knowingly created a grave risk of death, or that the deaths were especially heinous and cruel, or that he was involved in substantial planning for the attacks.
The prosecution this week has elicited powerful, wrenching testimony from witnesses to the attacks, survivors and family members of victims, and has played tapes of 911 messages from victims in the World Trade Center. On Wednesday, the jury heard the cockpit voice recorder from United Flight 93 as terrorists seized control of the plane and slashed the pilots' throats.
Moussaoui was uncooperative with his defense lawyer, Gerald Zerkin, presenting Zerkin with handwritten questions he wanted him to ask. But he seemed happy to cooperate when cross-examined by the government.
"Are you crazy?" asked lead prosecutor Robert A. Spencer.
"I am not," Moussaoui said.
"Are you delusional?"
