9/11 Families Relieved After Verdict

Several relatives of Sept. 11 victims said Wednesday justice was done when jurors decided that al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui should spend the rest of his life in prison rather than being put to death.

Abraham Scott, whose wife, Janice, died in the Pentagon, said he would have told her, "Baby, at least one perpetrator has been brought to justice."

Scott and others said they wanted other members of al Qaeda brought to justice now that the Moussaoui trial is over.

Rosemary Dillard, whose husband, Eddie, also died in the Pentagon, said the American system of justice worked.

"It's not going to be what all the families want," Dillard said. "It shows the world we're not going to stand for terrorists to come to our country and to be let loose."

Carie LeMack, whose mother, Judy Larocque, perished on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center, said her mom didn't believe in the death penalty and would have been glad that he was sentenced to life.

"This man was an al Qaeda wannabe who could never put together the 9/11 attacks," Lemack said. "He's a wannabe who deserves to rot in jail."

During the trial, some family members testified for the prosecution, describing their agony on Sept. 11 and their heartbreak afterward.

Others testifed for the defense, saying they didn't believe Moussaoui should be put to death.

In April, two relatives of Sept. 11 attack victims testified for the defense in the sentencing trial. One told the jury her family does not want to "get caught in a whirlpool of sadness and anger."

Medical sociologist Marilynn Rosenthal, whose son Josh was killed at the World Trade Center, said her family feels strongly "something good has to come out of what happened" and they have endowed an annual Sept. 11 lecture at the University of Michigan, where she teaches.

Robin Theurkauf, whose husband, Tom, died in the South Tower, also testified that "the Bible attempts to explain that we are all sinners, all broken people, but all children of God and loved by God."

Several members of the jury, which heard heart-rending tales during the prosecution case from almost four dozen victims and their relatives, leaned forward when they realized relatives were there to testify on behalf of the team trying to save the Frenchman from execution.