9/11 mastermind, 2 others strike plea deals while awaiting trial; families of victims 'very disappointed'
One of the suspects includes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who played a large role in the terror attacks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prosecutors have agreed to plea agreements with three of the masterminds of the Sept. 11 terror attacks who were awaiting trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Department of Defense (DOD) said Wednesday.
The Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, the DOD said.
The terms and conditions of the plea deals were not disclosed, but the terror suspects will be spared the death penalty, three relatives of 9/11 victims were told by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), the New York Post reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A hijacked plane crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11 (Seth McAllister/AFP via Getty Images)
The defendants are accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror attack on U.S. soil in American history. Loved ones of the victims expressed outrage upon hearing news of the deal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jim Smith, a retired police officer and husband of Moira Smith, the only female NYPD officer who died on 9/11, told the newspaper that "I feel like I was kicked."
Flowers are placed at the etching of Sneha Anne Philip's name at the memorial during ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York, Sept. 11, 2011. (Reuters/Carolyn Cole/Pool )
"The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us," he said. "They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty."
"I am very disappointed. We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty — the government has failed us," Daniel D’Allara, whose twin brother, John, was an NYPD cop killed in the attacks, told The Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In September, President Biden rejected a plea deal that would have excused the 9/11 architects and co-conspirators from potentially facing the death penalty.
The conditions the prisoners wanted the DOD to accept included a guarantee they wouldn't serve their sentences in solitary confinement and allowing them to eat and pray with other prisoners in Guantánamo Bay. They also wanted a civilian-run program to treat brain disorders, sleep disorders, and gastrointestinal damage they say the CIA caused during interrogations prior to being transferred to Guantánamo Bay in 2006, according to a New York Times report at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. (AP)
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The three men, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the attacks, the DOD said.
They are slated to be sentenced in Guantánamo Bay on Aug. 5