The prosecution may well have totally screwed any chance of the so-called 20th hijacker getting the death penalty.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 13 — The sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui teetered on the brink of a mistrial today, as the judge in the case angrily said she might spare him the death penalty following the disclosure that a government lawyer had improperly coached some witnesses. “In all my years on the bench, I’ve never seen a more egregious violation of the rule about witnesses,” Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said.

Shouldn’t this be a slam dunk? Isn’t Moussaoui (a) barking mad and (b) representing himself? They can’t win under those circumstances, so they have to CHEAT, even knowing what the stakes are? Wow.

More here.