White House won’t seek death penalty for ‘American Taliban’

By Karen Gullo

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration will not seek the death penalty for John Walker Lindh, charging him with one count of conspiracy to kill an American citizen and other crimes, a government source said today.

A senior administration official said the administration will charge Lindh with one count of conspiracy to kill an American citizen or citizens; two counts of providing material aid to a terrorist organization; and one count of prohibited transactions with a terrorist organization.

The source said the charges could subject Lindh to life in prison, but he won’t face the dealth penalty.

The source did not know the details behind the charges, including whether the first count was connected with the death of CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann. The CIA operative was killed during a riot of prisoners in Mazar-e-Sharif. Walker was among the prisoners, and had been questioned by Spann shortly before the uprising.

Lindh, 20, was captured in November fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was taken into custody by U.S. forces after a prison uprising at a fortress in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Lindh since then has been held on the amphibious attack ship USS Bataan in the Arabian Sea.

A baptized Roman Catholic who converted to Islam at 16, Lindh sent a letter to his parents in December saying he was safe and regretted not contacting them sooner. He apparently dictated the letter, dated Dec. 3, to an International Red Cross volunteer.

Providing support to terrorists is a crime punishable by 15 years in prison per count. But it could be considered a capital crime if it resulted in someone’s death, according to a summary of possible charges released by the Justice Department last month.

Among the factors Bush had to consider in determining how Lindh would be handled was whether he would be tried in a U.S. civilian court or military tribunal.

The Justice Department had said possible charges against Lindh could include treason, which carries the death penalty. Such a charge was considered difficult because of the technical requirements of proving the charge. They include the need for two witnesses to each act of treason, which may be hard to find in Afghanistan.

Raised in California, Lindh traveled abroad to study Islam and later joined forces with the Taliban.

Attorney General John Ashcroft scheduled a news conference for this afternoon.

Government sources discussing the situation on condition of anonymity said the charges would be brought by in U.S. District Court in suburban Alexandria, Va., where terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui is to be tried for conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks.