Manic Motives

The Pope's assailant gets life

A vile man of hate," summed up the public prosecutor. "We peered into his heart for a sign of humanity, even just a hint of repentance, but we found none." With that flourish of loathing, Nicolo Amato asked Rome's Assize Courts last week to condemn Mehmet Ali Agca, 23, to life in prison for shooting Pope John Paul II and two American tourists in St. Peter's Square on May 13. Agca's court-appointed lawyer, Pietro D'Ovidio, made no effort to establish his client's innocence, but tried to get him a lesser sentence by arguing that he was "a religious fanatic with a maniacal obsession and delusion of grandeur." Following seven hours of deliberation, the court gave the laser-eyed Turkish terrorist a lifetime sentence--the maximum under Italian law --and tacked on a concurrent penalty of ten years for other crimes, including gun smuggling and passport forgery. With good behavior, Agca would be eligible for parole in 28 years.

Shielded in court by bulletproof glass, Agca defiantly admitted his crime but threatened to go on a hunger strike unless his case was turned over to the Vatican or an international court. "On May 13, I was in the Vatican when I shot its head of state, and absolutely I do not accept Italian jurisdiction!" he shouted in a high-pitched voice. But Italian police hold jurisdiction over the square in front of St. Peter's. When the court rebuffed his appeal, Agca snubbed the proceedings. "I don't coming," he wrote in broken English. "This is a protest."

The brisk, three-day trial shed little light on Agca's motives. Italian police believe someone financed his travels in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East before the papal assassination attempt. But no firm evidence of a conspiracy has been discovered. Agca told interrogators that "the decision to shoot the Pontiff was mine, and no one asked me to do it." He called himself "an international terrorist, dedicated to helping terrorism of any color, not making a difference between red and black [left or right]." Prosecutor Amato conceded that Agca probably acted alone, committing a "symbolic patricide."

Meantime, Agca's victim remained in the Gemelli Polyclinic, recovering from a virus infection caused by a blood transfusion after he was wounded. John Paul still faces a second major operation, once he recuperates, on his large intestine.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.