The former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, took to the stand this afternoon to testify at the sentencing trial of Zacharias Moussaoui.
Mr Giuliani recalled how he had seen the World Trade Center being built, calling it a 'beautiful structure'.
'It was one of the symbols of New York City,' he said of the
twin towers destroyed by al-Qaeda hijackers on 11 September 2001.
Mr Giuliani, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2008,
shepherded New Yorkers through the horrific aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center, a role which won him many admirers across the United States.
His testimony came after prosecutors told jurors that the
'voices of the victims' of 11 September would convince them to sentence confessed al-Qaeda member Moussaoui to death.
The 37-year-old Frenchman is the only person charged in the US in connection with the 11 September attacks.
Today is the first day of victim impact statements in the trial. They are expected to take at least two weeks.
The presiding judge in the case, Leonie Brinkema, has also permitted the cockpit flight recorder from United Airlines flight 93 to be played in court next week.
That was the flight which crashed in Pennsylvania following its hijacking, killing 40 passengers and crew.
Moussaoui has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy in connection with the 2001 attacks.
Earlier this week the jury in the trial ruled that he was eligible for the death penalty.
