Congress calls for Biden administration not to spare 9/11 hijackers of the death penalty: 35 lawmakers join fury at proposed deal for murderers to avoid execution for killing 2,977 Americans

Don’t negotiate with terrorists, a group of Republicans in the House of Representatives and a Democrat are urging President Biden.

Thirty-four Republicans from the House of Representatives and New York Democrat Pat Ryan wrote a letter to the Biden administration demanding that they reject a potential plea deal that would spare alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others from the death penalty.

“This would be a grave miscarriage of justice, especially for the families of the 2,977 innocent civilians and first responders who lost their lives that fateful day,” the letter read, led by Republican Representative Mike Lawler, who represents the New York suburbs.

It also called on the Biden administration to work to finalize the conviction of the alleged terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay, as their trials have suffered more than 20 years of setbacks and delays.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon sent a letter to the families of the September 11 victims, explaining that plea deals are being explored for Mohammed and four of his alleged co-conspirators, whereby they would “accept criminal responsibility for their actions and plead guilty.” would argue’. .in exchange for not getting the death penalty.’

Guilty pleas in exchange for life imprisonment could finally bring to an end the more than 20-year-long case, the longest ever at the war court.

Guilty pleas resulting in life sentences could complicate President Biden’s pledge to close Guantánamo Bay. The facility has become increasingly secretive in its 20 years in operation, even as it costs taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

There are still 38 detainees at Guantanamo. Ten have been charged, but not yet brought to trial.

Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi were expected to receive the death penalty if convicted. Their charges include: terrorism; hijacking aircraft; plot; murder in violation of the laws of war; attacking civilians; attacking civilian objects; intentionally causing serious bodily harm; and destruction of property in violation of the laws of war.

The Al-Qaeda terrorists are accused of hijacking four planes and carrying out the coordinated attacks across the US that led to the deaths of 2,977 people, plus hundreds of others who died in the following years from inhaling toxic particles that were released in the rubble of the attacks. .

The case against the five men has stalled in a preliminary investigation due to the CIA’s use of torture to extract evidence from the defendants and delays from Covid-19. Almost ten years after the men’s arraignment, the military judge has not yet set a start date for the trial.

Congress has already banned bringing the 9/11 conspirators into US territory, and the conspirators themselves have demanded they be allowed to remain in Guantanamo, where they can pray and eat in groups. They don’t want to be sent to the supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, where federal prisoners are held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.

A plea deal is sure to anger some of the victims’ relatives who have demanded justice through the death penalty. Another question is whether some of the accused accomplices, who did not play such a direct role as the five men, would receive even lesser sentences.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers have argued that torture has caused the US government to lose the moral and legal authority to execute the suspects. Psychologists who conducted interrogations for the CIA waterboarded Mohammed 183 times. Agents were also known to strip, beat, tie up, and subject defendants to rectal abuse and sleep deprivation at so-called CIA black sites.

Guantánamo has cost American taxpayers more than $6 billion since its inception.

American taxpayers spend roughly $9.5 to $13 million per prisoner per year. The prison currently has 38 inmates. That’s compared to $78,000 spent per inmate at a “super-max” prison in Florence, Colorado, home to some of the most at-risk inmates in the US.