Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III has rejected a plea deal offered by military prosecutors to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others, the masterminds of the 9/11 terror attacks. The plea deal would have spared their lives in exchange for guilty pleas, but Austin has now put the death penalty back on the table. This decision has received mixed responses from victims’ families, with some feeling disrespected by the back and forth, while others see it as a step towards justice being served.
The rejected plea deal would have removed the possibility of a death penalty trial and given the three accused men life sentences. The plea agreement would have allowed family members of victims to ask questions and provide testimony at a sentencing hearing. However, Austin’s intervention means that the death penalty is now a potential punishment for Mohammed and his accomplices.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been jailed at Guantanamo prison for almost two decades and is considered the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks. Under the now-scuttled plea deal, Mohammed and his accomplices would have been sentenced in a hearing in 2025. The decision to reject the plea deal was made as a collective judgment by military prosecutors, aiming for finality and justice in the case.
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