Sept. 11 defendant could go to Terre Haute prison

TERRE HAUTE -- The federal government's decision to seek the death penalty against the only person charged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could lead to Zacarias Moussaoui's imprisonment here at the U.S. Penitentiary.\nThe prison is home to the nation's only federal death row, and was the site of last June's execution of Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City.\nThe Justice Department announced Thursday it will seek the death penalty against Moussaoui, a French flight student of Moroccan descent who goes on trial in the fall in federal court in Alexandria, Va.\nThe 33-year-old is accused of participating in a conspiracy before the attacks and prosecutors will try to show ties to other accused terrorists.\nTo win a death sentence, prosecutors must convince jurors that Moussaoui is just as guilty of the crimes as the 19 hijackers aboard three U.S. jetliners.\nFour of the six counts brought against Moussaoui carry a maximum sentence of death.\nIn Terre Haute, officials already are considering the possibility of housing Moussaoui at the penitentiary.\n"We have thought about it and talked about it," said 1st Sgt. Jeff Nicoson of the Indiana State Police Post in Terre Haute.\nSince McVeigh's execution by lethal injection, "those things do catch our attention more than they used to," Nicoson said, referring to rare federal death penalty cases.\nThe experience officials in Terre Haute gained through the heightened security and media scrutiny surrounding McVeigh's execution could come in handy if Moussaoui is convicted and sentenced to death.\n"We did it once," Nicoson told the Tribune-Star. "We can do it again."\nThe city's assistant police chief, Jerry Arney, agreed.\n"I don't think it would be detrimental to this city," Arney said of the possibility of Moussaoui being executed in Terre Haute.\nLeanna Turner, spokeswoman for the U.S. Penitentiary, said security procedures already in place would be sufficient for any inmate -- including one labeled as a terrorist.