Lawyers for Gilberto Valle had argued that the former NYPD cop was merely fantasizing about kidnapping and eating women, but in closing arguments prosecutor Randall Jackson tried to flip the argument, suggesting it makes sense that people plotting real crimes would also fantasize about them. As an example, Jackson asked jurors if it would be “any less chilling” if they heard fellow airline passengers plotting to hijack their plane, then learned they were just fantasizing. Jackson denies he was making a 9/11 reference to terrify jurors not sufficiently moved by talk of cannibalism, but the New York Times reports such arguments could be a key part of Valle’s attempt to overturn his conviction. “We think what must have happened,” said his lawyer, Julia Gatto, “is the jury was swayed by emotion and fear and didn’t follow the law.”
