Court Clears Path For Death Penalty Against 9/11 Plotters

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Secretary of Defense can scrap plea agreements shielding three Sept. 11 terrorists from the death penalty, clearing the way for capital punishment.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled the “sweetheart” deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi — who agreed to plead guilty to war crimes to avoid execution — can be rescinded at the Pentagon’s discretion. The plea agreements were struck in July 2024 during the Biden administration, but then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin moved to void them days later. A judge initially ruled in December that Austin acted too late to withdraw the deals.

Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao, who wrote the majority opinion, called it a “rare case” that justified reversing the lower court.

“The government has demonstrated a clear and indisputable right to relief in this case,” they wrote. “The Secretary of Defense had full legal authority to withdraw the Convening Authority’s delegated power over the pretrial agreements. Similarly … no prior performance of promises contained in those agreements prevented the Secretary’s withdrawal.”

In his dissent, Judge Robert Wilkins argued it was not “clear and indisputable” that the lower court erred in blocking Austin’s attempt to scrap the agreements. (Read more from “Court Clears Path For Death Penalty Against 9/11 Plotters” HERE)

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