In a trial that has been filled with surprises, the biggest shocks may be delivered when Moussaoui testifies. Jurors are less likely to vote to kill people they like, but Moussaoui has done little to endear himself to the twelve people who could soon decide his fate. He behaves as a man who expects to die, perhaps as a man who believes he will die a martyr's death. And he insists that he will testify.

Whether to testify is a decision only Moussaoui can make. Most defendants accept the advice of their lawyers to testify or not, but lawyers can only advise. It is the defendant's right to decide. Moussaoui wants to tell his story to the jury, but that decision is risky. There is little reason to think that Moussaoui will be a sympathetic witness.

In addition to the evidence, the jurors may respond viscerally and decide that Mr. Moussaoui is an odious figure undeserving of sympathy. They have heard some of his outbursts in pretrial proceedings in which he proclaimed in their presence his membership in Al Qaeda. He has said that he was indeed training to fly a plane into a building but that he was not involved in the Sept. 11 plot and should not be executed for it.

Moussaoui's performance on the stand could seal his fate with the jury. As TalkLeft observed here, Moussaoui is his own worst enemy. His best hope is that the judge concludes that the evidence -- including his own testimony -- is insufficient to permit a verdict of death. By testifying, Moussaoui takes the risk that the prosecution will elicit admissions that fill evidentiary holes that his lawyers hope to exploit.