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Feb 1, 2006 4:55 pm US/Eastern
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Exclusive: 9/11 Families To Watch Sentencing
Terrorist Could Face Death Penalty
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Families of those killed in the September 11 attacks will be able to watch the sentencing of the only terrorist convicted in the plot over closed circuit television at six locations in five states, WCBSTV.com has learned.
"Your application to view the trial proceedings in the Moussaoui case via Closed Circuit Broadcast has been approved," read letters from Virginia U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty dated January 24 sent to family members who applied to be present at the trial.
Zacarias Moussaoui pled guilty last April to scheming to fly a jet into the White House and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. A jury will decide whether he lives or spends his life behind bars after a mini-trial that will be viewed in federal courthouses in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Philadelphia and Virginia.
The letters, obtained by WCBSTV.com, tell attendees how to obtain high-tech credentials to be allowed to viewing rooms. In New York, family members will have their photos taken at the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan before February 17, the letters state.
Those in the New York area may view the Moussaoui case live in Manhattan Federal Court or at the Alphonse D'Amato U.S. Courthouse on Long Island beginning March 6, the letters state.
Court will be in session from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, with two 15 minute breaks and lunch at about 1 p.m.
Mental health professionals will be on hand and there will be "no eating drinking, talking, sleeping and/or reading in the courtroom," McNulty wrote.
"For the families and parents of the victims there has not been one iota of accountability or responsibility on any level since 9/11," said Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son, Christian perished in the Twin Towers. "This is our last hope . . . to see that this person receives justice."
The high-tech credentials are needed to provide security and privacy for family members, McNulty wrote.
"Your credential will be very unique and made by special equipment," McNulty wrote. "Therefore it cannot be made at a CCTV site and must be obtained before trial."
"For security reasons, we cannot mail credentials to your residence," McNulty added. "You will actually obtain the hard credential at the site you identify as the location you plan to attend the first time."
"Six CCTV sites are unprecedented in the history of our nation," McNulty concluded.
The other four locations are:
Alexandria, VA: Albert Bryan U.S. Courthouse
Boston, MA: John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse
Newark, NJ: Martin Luther King, Jr. U.S. Courthouse
Philadelphia, PA: James Byrne U.S. Courthouse
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)