ALEXANDRIA, Va. — When the nine men and three women gather for the last time in the seventh-floor jury room later this week, their verdict on whether Zacarias Moussaoui lives or dies may well hinge on how they size up the bearded figure in the green prison jumpsuit they have watched intently for the last six weeks.
Is he crazy?
To look at him, he would seem mad -- the bruised forehead from so much praying on his jail cell floor, his inaudible mumbles, the cold-hearted stare he flashes across the courtroom.
At times, he appears to have lost his senses -- his determination to kill all Americans, the shouted tirades at each trial recess, the riddles in which he sometimes speaks.
The Supreme Court has decreed that the mentally ill cannot be executed, and that could ultimately spare the life of the confessed Sept. 11 conspirator.
His defense lawyers, citing family history, believe he is mentally ill, even schizophrenic. He pleaded guilty to capital murder against their advice. He will not cooperate with them; he chooses instead to curse them out loud. Even his Al Qaeda handlers dismissed him as "cuckoo."
Yet he lucidly told prosecutors on the stand last week that he was neither crazy nor delusional. Moussaoui, 37, earned a master's degree in business in Britain, speaks three languages and seems remarkably familiar with American history and culture.
Judge Leonie M. Brinkema believes he is not at all touched in the head. In pretrial hearings, she found no proof he was "insane from a psychological standpoint."
His erratic behavior in court could, of course, be calculated to convince jurors he is deranged. Or by preaching hate from the witness stand, he could be inviting jurors to execute him and make him a martyr. Or he could just be more evil than mad, someone who Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist at New York University Medical Center, said takes a perverse delight in the pain of others.
Last week several dozen relatives of the Sept. 11 dead told the jury of their suffering. As many of them broke down, Moussaoui sat impassively nearby. Sometimes he yawned; sometimes he glanced nonchalantly at his fingernails. Sometimes he smiled.
"Moussaoui's lack of remorse and contempt for victims are among the characteristics exhibited by perpetrators of the most depraved crimes," Welner said.
Moussaoui clearly understands his surroundings.
