Alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his accomplices have reached a plea agreement with the U.S. government to avoid the death penalty.
Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi entered into pretrial agreements with Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions, according to a news release from the Department of Defense (DoD) on Wednesday.
The DoD release noted that “the specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time.”
However, The New York Times reported that the agreements would allow the defendants to avoid a death penalty trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they have resided for around two decades, in favor of life sentences.
“In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” a letter on the agreement signed by Rear Admiral Aaron C. Rugh reportedly says.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
