After all these years, one of the principal masterminds of the 9/11 jihad attacks has still not faced trial, indicating the government’s ongoing indecision about how to treat such people: are they enemy combatants or civilian criminals? And so now KSM may avoid the death penalty. The fact that he has not been punished yet is symptomatic of the failure of the American system today.
“US prosecutors may negotiate plea deal with 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, other conspirators: Report,” by Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, September 11, 2022:
U.S. military prosecutors are reportedly negotiating potential plea deals with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other conspirators imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
The plea deals may allow the five dependents to escape a potential death penalty, according to CBS. Mohammed is widely credited with being the architect of the 9/11 terror attacks. The other four defendants are Ramzi Binalshibh, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, Walid bin Attash and Ammar al-Baluchi.
Attorneys for the defendants reportedly say they would be willing to enter a guilty plea in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table, as well as for getting treatment for alleged torture they experienced while in CIA custody….
The trial for the five men has been bogged down in legal challenges for years. Prosecutors attempted to advance via pre-trial hearings in late 2021, but there remains no end in sight.
Each of the defendants has been assigned a military lawyer, a civilian lawyer and a human rights lawyer. The case has come before seven different judges, with the latest being Air Force Lt. Col. Matthew McCall.
