9/11 terrorists – including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed- may avoid death penalty as a result of plea deals

The suspected architects behind the 9/11 terror attacks may never face the death penalty under new plea deals being considered.

The Pentagon and FBI have informed families of some of the thousands killed that the agreements are being considered to try to end their more than a decade of persecution.

The move has angered some relatives of the nearly 3,000 people who were outright killed in the terror attacks.

The message, made in a letter sent to several families and seen by the Associated Press, reads: “The Chief Prosecutor’s Office has negotiated and is considering entering into agreements for the trial.”

While no plea deal has been made “and may never be finalized, it is possible that a PTA would remove the possibility of the death penalty in this case.”

The decision could affect numerous cases, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is being held as the suspected architect of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

The five defendants, including Ramzi Binalshibh (photo, 2002), were detained at different times and places in 2002 and 2003 and sent to Guantanamo for trial in 2006.

The 2001 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and their families are still fighting for justice. Pictured is the Tribute of Lights at the 9/11 Memorial Site in 2021

Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son Jimmy in 9/11 and received the letter, told the AP, “How can you have any faith in it?”

“It doesn’t matter how many letters they send, until I see it, I don’t believe it,” says Riches, a retired New York City deputy fire chief.

He said he was initially open to using military tribunals, but now believes the trial has failed and the 9/11 defendants should be tried in civilian courts.

The announcement of a potential plea deal comes 11 and a half years after military prosecutors and lawyers began exploring a negotiated settlement to the case.

The prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others held in Cuba’s notorious US prison at Guantanamo Bay has been blighted by repeated delays and legal disputes, particularly over the legal ramifications of the torture interrogation the men initially endured while in custody. CIA custody.

The five defendants were arrested at different times and places in 2002 and 2003 and sent to Guantanamo for trial in 2006.

One organization, formed by a network of bereaved families, has responded by insisting that a plea deal allow their lawyers to question the defendants about the scope of 9/11.

Saudi Arabia has denied the involvement of senior Saudi officials.

On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda militant group conspirators seized control of aircraft and struck the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington.

The 9/11 hearings have been suspended as military officials investigate whether any of the defendants are competent to stand trial. Depicted the 9/11 Memorial site in New York City

One organization, formed by a network of survivors, has responded by insisting that any plea agreement allows their attorneys to question the defendants about the extent of any fallout from 9/11.

The Pentagon and FBI have advised families of some of the thousands killed that the agreements are being considered

A courtroom drawing shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (C) and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash, (L) attending a pre-trial hearing on December 8, 2008 at Guantanamo Bay

Peter Brady, whose father was killed in the attack, said it’s about “holding people accountable, and they’re taking that away with this plea.”

The addition that the case “has to go through the legal process” cannot be settled in a plea deal.

On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorist plotters seized control of planes and hit the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington.

A fourth plane was bound for Washington, but crashed in Pennsylvania after crew members and passengers attempted to storm the cockpit.

It was Mohammed who pitched the whole idea of ​​such an attack on the United States to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and who got bin Laden’s permission to envision what would become the 9/11 attacks, the 9/11 United States Commission. closed.

The four other defendants allegedly supported the hijackers in various ways.

The 9/11 hearings have been suspended as military officials investigate whether any of the defendants are competent to stand trial. The hearings will resume on September 18 this year.

The case plays out with a changing array of lawyers and judges, all grappling with the legalities and logistics of the military process. Many of the hearings are embroiled in lawsuits over how much of the testimony should be considered inadmissible because of the torture defendants endured during early CIA custody, including the 183 times Muhammad was waterboarded.