US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has revoked plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and four other accused individuals, effectively reinstating their death penalty sentences. The Pentagon announced the decision, citing the significance of the case and asserting that responsibility for such a decision should rest with the Secretary as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009.
The pre-trial agreement for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) was signed by Susan Escallier, who oversees the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court, on July 31, 2024. The memo issued by Austin also mentioned four other defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.
The plea deals, which involved two other detainees, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, had been met with significant criticism. The New York Times reported that the three had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for life sentences, seeking to avoid a trial that could potentially result in the death penalty.
Guantanamo Bay, established in 2002 by then-President George Bush to detain foreign militant suspects following the September 11, 2001, attacks, has become a site of controversy and legal battles. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is alleged to be the mastermind behind the plan to hijack commercial planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths. The attacks also led to the US war in Afghanistan.
Several Republican lawmakers, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, voiced strong opposition to the plea deals. McConnell, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), wrote, “The Biden-Harris Administration’s cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice.”
J. Wells Dixon, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who has represented defendants at Guantanamo, had previously welcomed the plea bargains, viewing them as the only feasible way to resolve the long-stalled and legally complex 9/11 cases. The revocation of these agreements and the reinstated death penalty sentences mark a significant shift in the government’s approach to the case, raising questions about the future of the proceedings and the ongoing legal battle at Guantanamo Bay.
