Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made a significant decision regarding the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two other defendants. Austin has overridden a plea agreement that was reached earlier this week, reinstating them as death penalty cases. This move comes after the military commission at Guantanamo Bay approved plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, stipulating that they would serve life sentences at most. However, Austin nullified this approval, stating that the decision-making authority was his due to the significance of the matter.
Some families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks criticized the plea deal for cutting off the possibility of full trials and potential death penalties. Republican Senator Tom Cotton condemned the deal as 'disgraceful' and introduced legislation mandating that the defendants face trial and the death penalty. The U.S. military commission overseeing the cases has faced challenges, including the admissibility of evidence linked to the defendants' torture while in CIA custody.
J. Wells Dixon, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, welcomed the plea bargains as a way to resolve the long-stalled 9/11 cases. However, he accused Austin of bowing to political pressure by rescinding the plea deals. President Joe Biden had previously blocked a proposed plea bargain last year, citing concerns about the treatment of the defendants.
One defendant is still negotiating a possible plea agreement, while another was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial due to post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis linked to torture and solitary confinement. The legal proceedings surrounding the 9/11 attacks have been ongoing since 2008, with the prospect of full trials and verdicts remaining uncertain.
