Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the controversial decision to reinstate the death penalty cases for the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two other defendants, just days after a plea agreement was reached. The military commission at Guantanamo Bay initially announced plea deals for the three men, but Austin intervened to override the agreements.
Some families of the victims criticized the plea deal, which would have resulted in life sentences for the defendants, as it denied them the chance for full trials and potential death penalties. Republicans blamed the Biden administration for the deal, although the White House claimed they had no prior knowledge of it.
In a released order, Austin explained that he had the authority to make the decision on accepting the plea agreements, ultimately nullifying them. The defendants were expected to enter their pleas under the now-overridden deal next week.
The U.S. military commission handling the Sept. 11 attacks’ cases has been mired in pre-trial hearings since 2008, further complicated by allegations of torture suffered by the defendants in CIA custody. The road to full trials and verdicts remains uncertain due to the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through torture.