Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III has rejected a plea deal offered by military prosecutors to the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two accomplices. Austin has put the death penalty back on the table for the three accused men, withdrawing the authority to enter into a pre-trial agreement. The sudden change in direction has sparked mixed responses from the families of 9/11 victims. While some feel that the back and forth is disrespectful and prolonging their suffering, others, like Terry Strada, whose husband perished in the attacks, see it as a positive development towards justice being served. The plea deal would have resulted in life sentences for the accused men, but Austin’s decision has reinstated the possibility of a death penalty trial. Mohammed, who has been detained at Guantanamo prison for almost two decades, is considered the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. The two accomplices, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi, had also entered into plea agreements that have now been voided. The men had agreed to plead guilty to all offenses, including the murder of nearly 3,000 people in the 9/11 attacks. Mohammed, described as the principal architect of the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, had been subjected to controversial interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, while in CIA custody. The plea deal would have resulted in a sentencing by a panel of military officers in 2025, which is now uncertain due to Austin’s intervention.
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