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From the New York Post: Three terrorists accused of helping orchestrate the 9/11 attacks will avoid the death penalty after the Pentagon’s challenge to their sweetheart plea deal was smacked down by a military appeals court judge.
The ruling capped off a five-month, whiplash-inducing saga and came as a blow to victims’ families who have been holding out hope for justice for nearly a quarter-century.
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Under the deal — first reported on by The Post July 31 — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi agreed to plead guilty to war crimes in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table.
All three terrorists have been held at the Guantanamo Bay US military prison since 2003. The plea deal now means they will remain behind bars for the rest of their lives, but have escaped the death penalty.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had revoked the shocking plea deals three days after it was made public. But on November 6, a military judge ruled that Austin exceeded his authority when he tried to void the plea deal with the three terrorists.
Now, in a 21-page ruling Monday night, the appeals court has sided with the terrorists, saying Austin did not have the authority to rescind the plea deal once it was made.
Families of the victims of the horrific terror attack are outraged.
Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son, Christian, was killed responding to the attacks in NYC, said, “We are 100 percent against the plea deal. The whole process has been a disaster.” She added that the terrorists “should have been tried at the scene of the crime” in Manhattan federal court, just blocks away from where the World Trade Center towers once stood.
Jim McCaffrey, a retired FDNY lieutenant whose brother-in-law, Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, died while responding to the attack in the south tower, said, “This plea deal is atrocious. It’s salt added to the wound. If anybody deserves the death penalty, these terrorists do. They should have been executed years ago.”
Maureen Santora, whose firefighter son, also named Christian, died on 9/11, said, “Taking the death penalty off the table is deeply disturbing and unjust and unfair. These terrorists were responsible for killing nearly 3,000 people and thousands of others later from the toxic dust from the collapsed buildings.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) declared, “This is an abomination. The fact that Joe Biden allowed these plea deals to happen on his watch is unforgivable. Nearly 3,000 families will never be the same because of 9/11 – they have the right to see those responsible for their suffering face the death penalty.”
This is an abomination. The fact that Joe Biden allowed these plea deals to happen on his watch is unforgivable. Nearly 3,000 families will never be the same because of 9/11 – they have the right to see those responsible for their suffering face the death penalty. https://t.co/ubGm3naNqS
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) December 31, 2024
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