The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has revoked a plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and two other defendants, reinstating them as death-penalty cases. The deal was signed by Susan Escallier, who oversaw the war court proceedings, offering life sentences in exchange for guilty pleas. However, Austin argued that such a decision should rest with him.
Victims’ families were divided on the plea deal, with some feeling it denied them the chance for a full trial while others saw it as an opportunity for closure. Republican lawmakers, including Mitch McConnell and Elise Stefanik, criticized the deal and accused the administration of betraying the American people.
J Wells Dixon, a staff attorney, welcomed the plea bargains as a way to resolve the long-stalled and legally fraught 9/11 cases. The president and vice-president had no involvement in Austin’s decision to rescind the deal, according to a senior Pentagon official.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, along with two other defendants, were expected to formally enter their pleas next week. The case has been stuck in pre-trial hearings since 2008, with the torture of the defendants while in CIA custody complicating proceedings.
Mohammed is accused of plotting the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and led to the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan. The prospect of a full trial and verdicts remain uncertain due to the inadmissibility of evidence linked to the torture.
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