US defence secretary revokes plea deals for suspects behind 9/11 attack

The US defence secretary has revoked plea deals for the suspects behind the 9/11 attacks, two days after sixteen years of legally fraught prosecution processes reached a conclusion.

Llyod Austin’s announcement has reinstated the possibility of a death penalty for the alleged architect of the attacks on the Twin Towers, according to a memo sent to Susan Escallier, who is overseeing the war court proceedings.

Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, and his accomplices Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi had reached plea deals with the head of the military tribunal in Guntánamo Bay on Wednesday after lawyers had requested that the men receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty pleas.

In Friday’s memo, Mr Austin said that due to the “significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority”.

“I have determined that in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” he wrote in the memo addressed to Ms Escallier.

“Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself. Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024”

The New York Times, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, said the terms included the men’s longstanding condition that they be spared the risk of the death penalty.

“In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offences, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” the chief prosecutor, Rear Admiral Aaron Rugh, said in a letter to family members of victims, according to the outlet.

A senior Pentagon official told the New York Times that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had no involvement in the original plea deal, however, it ignited immediate backlash from top Republicans, accusing the pair of betraying their country.

Mitch McConnell and JD Vance, condemned the deal, along with New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik. McConnell called the decision “a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility”.

J Wells Dixon, a staff attorney at the Centre for Constitutional Rights who has represented defendants at Guantánamo Bay who have been cleared of any wrongdoing, had welcomed the plea bargains as the only feasible way to resolve the long-stalled and legally fraught 9/11 cases.

On Friday Mr Dixon accused the defence secretary of “bowing to political pressure and pushing some victim family members over an emotional cliff” by rescinding the plea deals.

Captured in Pakistan in 2003, Mohammed confessed to masterminding the 9/11 attacks and multiple other terrorist incidents after being tortured during interrogations.

He was subjected to waterboarding 183 times while in CIA custody before coming to Guantanamo, along with other torture and coercive questioning.The use of torture has been one of the main obstacles in US efforts to try the men in the military commission at Guantanamo, owing to the inadmissibility of evidence linked to abuse.

However, families have since condemned the use of torture, according to The Washington Post. Terry Kay Rockefeller, 74, whose sister Laura was killed on 9/11, told the Post: “I would have liked a trial of men who hadn’t been tortured, but we got handed a really poor opportunity for justice, and this is a way to verdicts and finality.”

Ramzi bin al Shibh, was due to stand trial over charges of helping plan the attack but was ruled unfit for proceedings last year as due to the torture he was victim to in CIA custody leaving him delusional and psychotic.

Families of many of the victims have said they wanted to see the men formally admit guilt. Pentagon officials refused to immediately release the terms of the plea bargain.

The US agreement with the men to enter into a plea agreement comes more than 16 years after their prosecution began for al-Qaeda’s attack, and more than 20 years after militants flew commandeered commercial planes into buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people. All three men have been in custody since 2003.

Terry Strada, the head of one group of families of victims of the attacks, said: “They were cowards when they planned the attack. And they’re cowards today.”

Source: msn.com, Emilia Randall, August 3, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Alabama | Gov. Ivey commutes Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, who was set to be executed Thursday. The governor’s office released the following statement: “Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that she has commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison with no chance of parole. Mr. Burton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, Alabama. As required by law, the governor first reached out to a representative of Mr. Battle’s family. She also notified the attorney general. Governor Ivey’s letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm is attached.

Supreme Court Denies Alabama Appeal, Allowing New Trial in Death Row Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday. At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced. Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

Texas executes Cedric Ricks

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution. Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.

Missouri Man Said DNA Test Could Prove Innocence. He Was Executed Before a Court Ruled.

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years. Lance Shockley, a man on death row in Missouri, wanted items from the crime scene to undergo DNA testing to potentially prove his innocence. The court scheduled proceedings on his request — but the date set was for two days after his execution. Patty Prewitt can’t have her DNA tested — and fully clear her name — because her sentence was commuted and she is no longer in prison. And others, including Lamar McVay, who is serving 30 years for a robbery, can’t even get an answer from the state on his DNA testing request. He's still awaiting a ruling on a motion he filed in September 2022.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog