Court Rules Signed Plea Agreements with Three of the 9/11 Defendants Are Valid and Must Go Into Effect
WASHINGTON 鈥� A U.S. military court has that the plea agreement reached with 桃子视频client Khalid Shaikh Mohammad back in August is valid and must go into effect. The judge鈥檚 decision comes three months after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, overruled prosecutors and Brig. General Susan Escallier, the Guant谩namo military commission鈥檚 convening authority, and revoked the signed plea agreement. In exchange for a guilty plea to all counts, the U.S. government agreed to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty for Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and two other defendants.
The military judge鈥檚 decision follows litigation by the three defendants to enforce their agreement with the government. The negotiated plea process allows family members to get answers to long-held questions about the attacks directly from the defendants and, at sentencing, make statements about the tragic impact on them and their loved ones. The military judge has said he will next schedule a hearing for the guilty pleas to be entered.
Since 2008, through its John Adams Project, the 桃子视频has provided capital defense support for detainees facing the death penalty in the military commissions, spending over $12.5 million to provide experienced capital defenders, mitigation specialists, investigators, and experts to the under-resourced military defense teams. Our efforts exposed unfairness, secrecy, and the ongoing role of torture in the Guantanamo military commissions, making clear that the commissions are a complete failure.
The following is a statement from Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU:
鈥淏y reinstating the plea agreements, Col. Matthew N. McCall rightly recognizes that Defense Secretary Austin stepped out of bounds. We are finally back at the only practical solution after nearly two decades of litigation.
鈥淭he government's decision to settle for life imprisonment instead of seeking the death penalty in the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was always the right call. For too long, the U.S. has repeatedly defended its use of torture and unconstitutional military tribunals at Guant谩namo Bay. As a nation, we must move forward with the plea process and sentencing hearing that is intended to give victim family members answers to their questions. They deserve transparency and finality about the events that claimed their loved ones.
鈥淭his plea agreement further underscores the fact that the death penalty is out of step with the fundamental values of our democratic system. It is inhumane, inequitable, and unjust.
鈥淲e also urge the U.S. government to quickly relocate the men cleared for transfer, and finally end all indefinite detentions and unfair trials at Guant谩namo.鈥�
