Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin withdraws plea deal for accused 9/11 terrorists
NBCAUG 14 2024
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — and two of his accomplices — Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi — have reached a plea deal with the US, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.
Held at the federal military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the trio have agreed to plead guilty to all charges — including "the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet" — in exchange for a life sentence rather than the death penalty.
Mohammed is accused of being the architect of the conspiracy to fly hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Attash allegedly trained the hijackers, while al Hawsawi is charged with financing the terrorists and helping them with travel arrangements.
This plea deal is disappointing, heartbreaking, and a mockery of justice. By excusing the architects and co-conspirators of the 9/11 attacks, the government has betrayed, disrespected, and victimized the families of victims all over again. These terrorists committed the worst crime in America's history, which merits the ultimate punishment, the highest penalty. Also, this deal takes away the possibility of exposing Saudi Arabia's involvement in the attack on America's sovereignty.
Although the accused are spared the death penalty, this plea deal is a critical step toward judicial finality and justice after two decades of legal gridlock. This resolution avoids what could have been an endless trial against the terrorists and ensures the perpetrators of the heinous attacks admit to their conduct and are punished for killing thousands of Americans and scarring the nation forever.
The death penalty inherently violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment. It's inhumane, inequitable, and unjust, especially for the defendants who have been held at the US Navy base at Guantánamo Bay without trial for years. This plea deal is the right call because it will end nearly two decades of litigation as well as open a path to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center and end the CIA's unethical use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques.