‘NO DEATH PENALTY’ plea deal for 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, thankfully thrown out by federal appeals court

On Friday, July 11, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. tossed out a plea deal that would have spared the lives of the alleged masterminds behind al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. Under the plea deal, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants would have received life sentences without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty in an agreement between the prosecution and defense that was worked out over two years.

SAN The U.S. military has been trying to prosecute Mohammed and the other defendants for more than 20 years. However, the legal process has been slowed by various legal challenges.

Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rejected the proposed plea deal, arguing only the defense secretary should have the authority to decide whether the death penalty should be considered in a case as serious as the Sept. 11 attacks.

In December, a military appeals court ruled against Austin’s attempt to cancel the plea deal. On Friday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with Austin in a 2-1 decision, ruling that he did have the authority to cancel the agreement.

Mohammed’s defense lawyers argued that some of the evidence was obtained through torture, and questioned if that evidence is legal or ethical to use in court.