A Fate Worse Than Death

I have a devil of a time spelling this guy’s name. I’ll go with the Reuters spelling: Zaccariah Moussaoui. Let's call him "Zach".

This is a mentally troubled individual who wants to die. He is disavowed by his terrorist cohorts, and described as someone possessed of significant intelligence. He is painted as an Al Qaeda wannabe, and his story constantly shifts regarding his role in the events of 9/11. Some people say he is a bright guy who knows exactly what he’s doing; others say he’s a sick puppy looking for approval in the worst possible way.

Having been declared eligible for the death penalty, he may be committing “suicide by cop.” In America, only the police, and the state, are authorized to exercise lethal force upon a malefactor.

There are those who argue that giving Zach the Really Big Shot will degrade his desire to be a martyr. Death by lethal injection, without taking a number of infidels down in some grand apocalypse, will not honor the bizarre tradition of Islamic martyrdom.

If you have some insane notion that life is no longer worth living, and you lack the intestinal fortitude to take and hold a mouthful of water, and put a bullet through your teeth, then the police will accommodate your desire. Cops are not a bloodthirsty assassin cult; they are devoted to saving lives. They are also front-line troops, and outside of the military armed forces, they are among the few who are legally authorized to exercise lethal force in the performance of their duty.

Suicide is a cowardly act. We may think our lives mean little to a very few, but opting out at an early stage causes immense emotional damage to those who care about us…and yes, they are there, no matter what we think in those dark moments. God gave you that kitchen; go take the heat. You’re a long time dead…these few moments of life are priceless.

“Suicide by cop” is relatively easy, and a double act of cowardice. Taking your own life is one thing; forcing a stranger to do it is another six-pack of possums. At the cutting edge, all you need to do is go into a public place, and start acting crazy, with a threat of lethal force against innocents. Take hostages, or start cutting people down. Someone will call the police, and they will approach cautiously. They’ll beg you to give up, and get some help for whatever ails you.

Draw down on them, charge them with an edged weapon, or threaten an innocent bystander, and those cops will exercise their option of lethal force. Congratulations! You have just committed suicide by cop. Since you’re a dead coward, you don’t have to think about the officer who will go home that night, and see your face for the rest of his life because you forced him to kill you.

Islamofascists think like space aliens. Death, for them, is glorious.

There is a higher form of “suicide by cop”. The state can execute you, if you behave badly enough. If you don’t go out like a gunfighter, and surrender to stand trial, the state can condemn you to the ultimate penalty. Even taking the needle can be a glorious martyrdom, if the penalty is administered by infidels.

As satisfying as it would be to put Zaccariah Moussaoui to death, I have a better idea.

The federal Bureau of Prisons [BOP] operates a super-max prison in Florence, Colorado. Inmates there literally have to have sunlight piped to them underground. It’s an expensive proposition, but I think we should bury Zach there for the rest of his natural life. It’s the ultimate punishment: he does not get to become a martyr. He is effectively isolated from any comments to his Al Qaeda brotherhood. He will spend the rest of his days contemplating his missed opportunity to become a glorious martyr for Allah. He will spend the rest of his naturally appointed life eating beans, walking in imported sunshine, and wishing he’d died for the cause. Suicide at that point becomes moot; if dying for “The Cause” is all, then denial of that means is the ultimate punishment. A noose of bedsheets is dishonorable, and there is no grand apocalypse available from John Gotti’s old prison cell thirty feet underground.

I am all for the termination of terrorists. It’s a simple solution to a complex problem, and it breaks terror with terror, which is the ultimate solution. Anyone caught in the act should be dropped on sight.

In the case of Mr. Zach, who had the misfortune to fall into our hands alive, I think the ugliest thing we can do to him is deny him the opportunity to die for his cause, and to also deny him any sort of media forum to exhort his fellow terrorists. That super-max federal prison in Colorado accomplishes both aims at once. Give Zach the Rudolph Hess treatment. To paraphrase The Bible, let him wallow in lamentation for the rest of his days. It’s a fate worse than death.