Moussaoui told 'lethal' lies: Prosecution

The prosecution said Moussaoui had lied with lethal intent as it pressed the case for him to be executed for his role in 9/11 attacks.

The prosecution said on Wednesday that Zacarias Moussaoui had "lied with lethal intent" as it pressed the case for him to be executed for his role in the September 11 attacks.

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There was no letup in the prosecution's insistence that the 37-year-old Frenchman could have prevented the hijacked plane strikes on New York and Washington in 2001, as closing arguments in the death penalty trial started.

"Zacarias Moussaoui came to this country to kill as many Americans as he could. In this trial you have heard from the defendant himself that is exactly what he did," prosecutor David Raskin told the jury.

"He was supposed to fly the fifth plane into the White House on September 11," Raskin added, referring to Moussaoui's own surprise testimony this week.

"People died in these attacks and they would be alive today if the defendant had told the truth. That is why he is eligible for the death penalty and that is why we are here."

Moussaoui, who was detained one month before September 11, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges linked to the attacks.