US says plea deal reached with September 11 mastermind, 2 accomplices
- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 2 accomplices to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence, avoiding death penalty trials
US prosecutors have reached a deal with September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Pentagon said Wednesday, reportedly involving a guilty plea in exchange for avoiding a death penalty trial.
The agreements with Mohammed and two other accused moves their long-running cases toward resolution. These have been bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings for years while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
A Pentagon statement said no details of the deal would be immediately made public at this time, but The New York Times reported that Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for a life sentence instead of a trial after they could get the death penalty.
Such a proposal was detailed by prosecutors in a letter last year but divided the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11 attacks, with some still wanting the defendants to face the ultimate penalty.