Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the main plotter of the 9/11 attacks, agrees to plead guilty. He, along with two accomplices, will serve up to life in prison instead of facing a death-penalty trial. The plea bargain brings partial closure to a case that has dragged on for twenty years and become mired in legal gridlock.
The settlement was reached after years of negotiations, during which the defendants requested medical care for their lingering injuries and asked not to be put in solitary confinement. Their past torture is largely responsible for bogging down the case, as prosecutors and defense attorneys have been arguing over whether evidence obtained through torture is admissible in court.
As part of the plea bargain, Mohammed and his co-defendants will plead guilty to conspiracy and murder charges. They will be required to answer questions from victim family members about how and why they planned the attacks.
The case will continue for at least another year; the defendants will be sentenced at a separate hearing that will not occur before September 2025. Two remaining 9/11 defendants whose cases must still be resolved are Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial, and Ammar al-Baluchi, who has not settled due to his desire for post-torture medical care.
The plea agreements have been met with a mix of reactions from victim family members. While some see it as a step towards closure and justice, others are deeply troubled by the closed-door agreements and feel that crucial information is being hidden without giving families the chance to learn the full truth.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/31/nx-s1-5059244/khalid-sheikh-mohammed-9-11-matermind-plea-deal