USA | Sept. 11 families group leader cheers restoration of death penalty option in 9-11 prosecutions

“These men deserve no mercy," Strada said. "They certainly didn’t show any mercy to my husband or the other 2,976 who died in the attacks.”

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — The head of a group of family members of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks said Saturday that she’s hearing nearly unanimous praise of the U.S. defense secretary’s nullification of plea deals for the accused 9/11 mastermind and two others that would have removed the death penalty as a possibility.

The American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, said it plans to challenge the reversal in court, citing it in a statement Saturday as a “rash act” that “violates the law.”

Terry Strada, national chair of the group 9/11 Families United, said she was shocked by the announcement late Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was rejecting a plea deal reached just days ago and was restoring the death penalty as an option in the cases.

He wrote that authority in the matter ultimately rested with him.

“Nobody saw this coming,” Strada said.

But she quickly added that it was the right thing to do.

“These men deserve no mercy," Strada said. "They certainly didn’t show any mercy to my husband or the other 2,976 who died in the attacks.”

She said dozens of individuals from her group who she has communicated with since Friday night have been unanimous.

“Everybody I’ve talked to wants them put to death because that’s the punishment that fits the crime and the message the United States needs to send to terrorists around the world: We will hold you accountable and exercise the death penalty,” Strada said.

And she said a large international prisoner swap that occurred Thursday was a reminder of the need to ensure that nobody behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that turned hijacked planes into missiles that tore through 110-story twin World Trade Center towers and smashed into the Pentagon are ever set free.

Strada has said as recently as several days ago that some of the 10,000 family members of those killed in the attacks are divided over whether the death penalty is appropriate.

Austin's action came two days after the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, announced that the official appointed to oversee the war court had approved plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two accused accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.

In a release Saturday, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said the civil rights group plans to sue to win a reversal of Austin's move.

“It’s stunning that Secretary Austin betrayed 9/11 family members seeking judicial finality while recklessly setting aside the judgment of his own prosecutors and the Convening Authority, who are actually steeped in the 9/11 case. Politics and command influence should play no role in this legal proceeding," Romero said.

He said any death penalty finding would not be upheld on appeal because of torture experienced by those who were captured after the 9/11 attacks and because military commissions are “inherently unjust.”

“After over 20 years, it’s time for our government to accept the defendants’ guilty pleas as the best solution in a terrible circumstance. The 9/11 families and the American people deserve closure and adherence to due process principles that are the bedrock of our democracy,” Romero said.

Families of those killed in the al-Qaida attacks were told in letters that the plea agreement stipulated that the men would serve up to life sentences but would not face death.

Strada said family members feared that if they were placed in U.S. prisons, “any future administration could commute their sentence or use them in a possible prison swap.”

“I’m not a ghoul that I want them put to death,” Strada added. “I want them put them to death because I don’t want them to have a voice, ever.”

Source: wgrz.com, Larry Neumeister, August 4, 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

U.S. | Four executions are scheduled in four states over four days this week

Over the next four days, four inmates in four different states are scheduled to be put to death – a cluster that, while not abnormal, comes amid a national uptick in executions while President Donald Trump calls for the death penalty’s expansion. A cluster of executions is “not that unusual,” according to Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Policy Project. “But it’s become increasingly rare as use of the death penalty has diminished.” Indeed, the number of executions each year remains far lower than its peak in 1999, when nearly 100 people were put to death nationwide. That figure steadily decreased until the Covid-19 pandemic, when it reached historic lows, Dunham said.

Oklahoma judge stays execution of man set to die Thursday

Hanson was transferred to Oklahoma custody in March by federal officials following through on President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge granted a temporary stay of execution Monday to a man whose transfer to death row was expedited by the Trump administration and who was scheduled to receive a lethal injection this week. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, was set to die Thursday for killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. Hanson’s lawyers have argued that he did not receive a fair clemency hearing last month before the state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board. They claim board member Sean Malloy was biased because he worked for the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office when Hanson was being prosecuted.

Japan | Steady-handed prison guard remembers faces of condemned he executed

His hands never trembled, not even as he slipped the noose around the necks of several condemned men. But now, years later, their faces return to him -- uninvited, every day. Currently in his 70s, a Japanese man who worked as a prison guard for many years at a detention center in eastern Japan, remains anonymous for privacy reasons. One morning in the 1990s, he was informed he was to be that day's "noose handler," assisted by four other prison officers and several staff in the task of hanging death row inmates. "I knew this was a road I'd have to go down eventually if I worked at a detention center," the man said in an interview with Kyodo News. "You don't have any power to veto the decision."

Utah | Judge says Ralph Menzies does have dementia, but is competent enough to be executed

A Utah judge says death row inmate Ralph Menzies is mentally competent enough to be executed by firing squad. In a ruling issued Friday evening, 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates wrote that Menzies does have dementia, but it’s not enough to prevent him from understanding why he’s being punished. Menzies’ attorneys say they plan to appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court. The ruling caps of a monthslong competency hearing that began in November, where attorneys for Menzies argued the 67-year-old’s brain is so damaged he can’t form a “rational understanding” of why the state is pursuing the death penalty. Attorneys for the state, meanwhile, argued that Menzies does show signs of cognitive decline but he’s still competent.

Texas | Man ordered final death row meal so controversial that no one gets one anymore

As well as listing off five people we wouldn't mind getting stuck in a lift with if it ever came to it, we've all debated what we would have for our last ever meal on Earth. These imaginary scenarios help us kill a bit of time during long journeys, or can reignite the conversation if it gets a bit stale. But for death row inmates, fantasising about their final feast isn't just a fun and fictitious pastime - it's something they actually have to decide on before they face their fate. Unless they are locked up in Texas, that is, as the US state no longer offers prisoners this privilege thanks to the actions of one convict 14 years ago.

Alabama executes Gregory Hunt

Alabama executes a man by nitrogen gas for the beating death of a woman in 1988 An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman in 1988 was put to death Tuesday evening in the nation’s 6th execution by nitrogen gas. Strapped to a gurney with a blue-rimmed mask covering his entire face, Hunt gave no final words but appeared to give a thumbs-up sign and a peace sign with his fingers. The gas began flowing sometime after 5:55 p.m., but it was not clear exactly when. At 5:57 p.m. Hunt briefly shook, gasped and raised his head off the gurney. He let out a moan at about 5:59 p.m. and raised his feet.

Oklahoma executes John Hanson

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday whose transfer to state custody was expedited by the Trump administration. John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:11 a.m., prison officials said. Hanson was sentenced to die after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing a Tulsa woman in 1999. “Peace to everyone,” Hanson said while strapped to a gurney inside the prison’s death chamber.

Florida executes Anthony Wainwright

Florida executes man convicted in rape, murder of woman 3 decades ago The U.S. Supreme Court rejected last-ditch appeals to spare convicted killer Anthony Wainwright and his execution was carried out as planned Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison. Wainwright, 54, was executed at 6 p.m. by lethal injection for the 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart, who was kidnapped from a Lake City supermarket parking lot, raped and killed. This execution marked the 6th inmate put to death by lethal injection in Florida this year.

Indonesia | 3 British nationals face death penalty for allegedly smuggling 1 kg of cocaine into tourist island of Bali

Three British nationals accused of smuggling over two pounds of cocaine into Indonesia were charged Tuesday in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws. Convicted drug smugglers in Indonesia are sometimes executed by firing squad. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on Feb. 1 after customs officers halted them at the X-ray machine after finding suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages, said prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara.

Oscar Franklin Smith, Tennessee death row inmate, declines to select execution method

Oscar Franklin Smith, a Tennessee death row inmate scheduled for execution on May 22, will die by lethal injection if the process moves forward. Smith, who was asked to choose between lethal injection and the electric chair, declined to pick, his attorney Kelley Henry, a supervisory assistant federal public defender, said. When an inmate does not choose, the method defaults to lethal injection. It's not the first time Smith has been given this grim decision and declined. That decision to not choose ultimately saved his life for three more years.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog