‘Atrocity of Justice’: Outrage as 9/11 Masterminds Finally Plead Guilty to Massacre — To Dodge Death Penalties
Suspected 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (left), Walid bin Attash (center), and Mustafa al-Hawsawi (right) were offered plea deals to avoid the death penalty in exchange for life in prison.
Aug. 1 2024, Published 9:15 a.m. ET
There is outrage across the country this week after the three suspected masterminds behind 9/11 were allowed to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty – even despite killing almost 3,000 people.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 59, Walid bin Attash, 46, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, 55, were offered plea deals by the Convening Authority for Military Commissions on Wednesday in exchange for life in prison.
Daniel D’Allara, whose NYPD twin brother John was killed on the day of the attacks, slammed the plea agreement decision, saying: “I am very disappointed.
Mohammed, Bin Attash and al-Hawsawi are accused of planning out the terrorist attack that left 2,976 people dead on September 11, 2001.
“We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty – the government has failed us.”
Mohammed – the alleged mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 – was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and has been detained at Guantánamo Bay ever since.
He was charged with war crimes and murder in connection to the almost 3,000 people killed in the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in American history 24 years ago.
Bin Attash and al-Hawsawi, Mohammed’s suspected co-conspirators, were also offered plea deals to avoid the death penalty in exchange for life in prison.
Rear Admiral Aaron C. Rugh, chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, announced the decision in a letter to the families of those killed in the 9/11 attacks.
The rear admiral wrote: “In exchange for 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.”
The iconic New York Post cover published after Mohammed, Bin Attash and al-Hawsawi were spared the death penalty.
But nearly every family who saw their loved ones killed in the devastating attacks 24 years ago responded with outrage after learning Mohammed, bin Attash and al-Hawsawi would be spared the death penalty.
Retired police officer Jim Smith, whose wife Moira was the only female police officer to die on 9/11, said he felt like he had been “kicked in the balls” after learning of the plea deal offers.
The grieving widower told the New York Post: “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.
“They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty.”
Kathy Vigiano, whose NYPD husband Joseph Vigiano was also killed in the attacks, responded: “I am angry and disappointed that enemy combatants who killed thousands of Americans in our homeland are now able to exploit the U.S. judicial system to their benefit, receiving support from American taxpayers for shelter, food, and healthcare for the rest of their lives.”
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The Department of Defense has also faced backlash for releasing a short three-paragraph, unsigned statement on Wednesday night announcing the plea deal development.
While the three suspected 9/11 masterminds have been detained at Guantanamo Bay, it is unclear where they will be imprisoned following their guilty pleas.
Journalist Ira Stoll dubbed the secret plea deal offers “weird” and questioned why the terms of Mohammed, bin Attash and al-Hawsawi’s plea deals were not made public.
He wrote: “This is weird. The terrorist attacks on New York City, on the Pentagon, and on Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, were a big deal, killing nearly 3,000 people.
“If there’s a deal that involves leniency for the perpetrators, the terms should be public, and it should be announced not in an after-hours unsigned press release, but by a live person who can answer questions.”
Stoll continued: “People have a range of views on the death penalty, but among the possible cases for which it is warranted, the September 11 attacks would seem to rank high among them.
“For Vice President Harris, who is running as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, it could be a politically troubling issue to get saddled with leniency for alleged September 11 perpetrators.”
J. D. Vance, the Ohio senator-turned-vice president pick chosen to run alongside Donald Trump for the 2024 White House, also slammed the “Biden-Harris Department of Justice” for “cutting a sweetheart deal” with the three suspected 9/11 masterminds.
J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator and Donald Trump's vice president pick, slammed the Dept. of Justice's decision to offer Mohammed, Bin Attash and al-Hawsawi plea deals despite their suspected roles in orchestrating 9/11.
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Vance, 39, said during a campaign speech in Glendale, Arizona on Wednesday: “Just today, I heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice cut a deal with al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty.
“Now, as someone who enlisted in the Marines to serve after 9/11, that is ridiculous. But it's not surprising.”
He continued: “Now, just think about the point that we've gotten to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, have weaponized the Department of Justice to go after their political opponents, but they're cutting a sweetheart deal with 9/11 terrorists.
“We need a president who kills terrorists, not negotiates with them.”
Mohammed, bin Attash and al-Hawsawi’s guilty plea hearings are expected to take place as early as next week – although their sentencing hearings are not expected until sometime next summer.
It is not immediately clear where the three suspected terrorists will be imprisoned following their guilty pleas.
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