September 11 accused wants to plead guilty

The plea could be entered this week if a judge finds Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen, mentally competent, reports The Washington Post. His mental state has been an issue in the case ever since he rescinded a guilty plea in 2002. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema is scheduled to meet with Moussaoui this week to determine if he has the mental capacity to enter a plea now. In recent letters to the government and to Brinkema, Moussaoui said he was willing to accept the possibility of a death sentence, which sources said could resolve a key point of contention. Prosecutors are unlikely to drop their insistence on capital punishment. If Brinkema accepts a plea, she would then probably set a death penalty trial, at which jurors would decide if Moussaoui should be executed. Full report in The Washington Post