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.