Yet another Misunderstander of Islam. “Haq convicted on all counts in Jewish Federation shootings,” by Jennifer Sullivan and Steve Miletich for the Seattle Times, December 15 (thanks to all who sent this in):
A King County jury this morning found Naveed Haq guilty of eight counts, including aggravated first-degree murder, in the 2006 shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. The murder verdict carries an automatic life sentence for Haq.
The jury also found Haq guilty of five counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of unlawful imprisonment and one count of malicious harassment, the state’s hate-crime law….
Haq opened fire in the federation offices on July 28, 2006, killing employee Pamela Waechter, 58, and wounding Cheryl Stumbo, Carol Goldman, Dayna Klein, Christina Rexroad and Layla Bush…
The focus of the second trial was Haq’s mental state at the time of the attack. The defense did not dispute that Haq carried out the shootings, but argued that he was legally insane at the time.
Haq pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and the defense produced several mental-health experts who testified that he was mentally ill. Defense attorneys had asked that Haq be sent to a state mental hospital rather than prison.
Prosecutors agreed that Haq has a mental illness, but contended that he was sane when he entered the federation and opened fire.
“He wanted to kill these women,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Erin Ehlert told the jury during her closing argument on Thursday. “He knew exactly what his intent was when he walked in there. He planned this.”
Prosecutors also introduced as evidence audio recordings from 10 phone calls Haq placed to his family after his arrest. In the calls, recorded by the King County Jail, Haq told his mother he was “a soldier of Islam.”…
The recordings were not introduced during Haq’s first trial.
Why not?
On the 911 tape, which the prosecution played for jurors on Oct. 21, the opening day of the trial, Haq said he was tired of the world ignoring the Muslim point of view.
“I don’t care if I die,” Haq said to the dispatcher. “This is just to make a point.”
Point taken.