The “mastermind behind September 11” escapes the death penalty

Published 1 August 2024 at 15.10

Foreign. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – the alleged mastermind behind the September 11th attack – and two others involved escape the death penalty. This is done through a plea deal with the prosecutors that means they plead guilty to everything.

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the two suspected cronies – Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi – have been imprisoned at the infamous US Guantanamo base in Cuba for 23 years.

The announcement that they will not be executed provokes strong reactions from the victims' families, who have been waiting for nearly 24 years to a judicial conclusion, the New York Post reports.

In exchange for avoiding the death penalty, the three defendants have agreed to plead guilty to all charges, including the murders of the 2,976 people named in the prosecution.

Daniel D'Allara, whose twin brother John was one of the 23 New York police officers killed during the attacks, expresses his disappointment:

– I am very disappointed. We have been waiting patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty – the state has failed us, he tells the New York Post.

Terry Strada, national president of the family organization 9/11 Families United, says some relatives want to see an end to the protracted process, but that she personally wanted to see a trial where the guilty were convicted and punished according to the crime they were charged with.

Retired police officer Jim Smith was married to Moira Smith, the only female police officer who died on 9/11 . He says it feels like he got a “kick in the wallet”.

– They committed the worst crime in our country's history. They should receive the maximum sentence, he told the New York Post.

It is still unclear where the three men will serve their sentences after their confessions.


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