9/11 Tragedy
Accused 9/11 Plotters Reach Plea Deals with USA to Avoid Death Penalty
The agreement with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, attacks on the United States was approved by a senior U.S. defense official.
In a significant development in the long-running legal saga surrounding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, three key defendants have reached plea agreements with the United States government to avoid the death penalty. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks, along with co-defendants Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, have agreed to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for life sentences, the Defense Department announced on Wednesday.
This decision marks a pivotal moment in a case that has spanned over two decades, involving extensive legal battles and numerous delays. The plea deals were disclosed in a letter from military prosecutors to the families of the nearly 3,000 victims who perished in the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania.
"In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet, and to be later sentenced by a panel of military officers," stated Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh, the chief prosecutor in the case, in the letter.
The plea agreements come after years of pretrial litigation and are seen as a step towards judicial finality in a case that has been mired in controversy and procedural complications. Human rights organizations and legal experts have criticized the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay for their secretive nature, conflicts of interest, and the use of evidence obtained through torture.
John G. Baker, a Marine Corps general who served as defense counsel for the Military Commissions Defense Organization, highlighted the fundamental issues with the proceedings. "At the heart of the commissions’ problems is their original sin, torture," Baker told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2021. "The United States chose to secretly detain and torture the men it now seeks to punish."
The defendants were initially charged in 2008, but the cases were dropped in 2010 as the Obama administration attempted to try them in New York. Charges were refiled in 2011 after the administration failed to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center. The legal process has been further complicated by a 2015 law that restricts the U.S. government from transferring detainees to the continental United States for trial, citing security concerns.
The use of torture has been a significant obstacle in the trials, with defense attorneys arguing that the brutal interrogation methods used on the defendants in CIA custody compromised the integrity of the evidence. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, for instance, was subjected to waterboarding 183 times.
The plea deals have elicited mixed reactions from the families of the 9/11 victims. Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, expressed frustration over the prolonged quest for justice. "They were cowards when they orchestrated the attack," she said. "And they remain cowards today."
Michael Burke, whose brother Billy, a firefighter, died in the North Tower's collapse, criticized the length of the legal process. "The Nuremberg trials took months or a year," Burke remarked. "It is disgraceful that, 23 years later, these individuals have not faced conviction or punishment for their actions."
Despite the plea agreements, the legal proceedings at Guantánamo Bay have underscored the challenges of prosecuting terrorism cases within the framework of military commissions. Daphne Eviatar, a director at Amnesty International USA, welcomed the accountability emerging from the plea deals but called for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. "The Biden administration must also ensure that state-sanctioned enforced disappearances, torture, and other forms of mistreatment never occur again," she emphasized.
As the defendants prepare to enter their guilty pleas, the plea deals represent a crucial step towards concluding one of the most significant legal battles in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The agreements highlight the complexities and controversies that have surrounded the pursuit of justice for one of the darkest days in American history.