Republican members of the New York House of Representatives are working to prevent the alleged masterminds of the 9/11 terror attacks from reaching a deal that would spare them the death penalty.
“The 9/11 Justice Act would ensure that plea deals are not offered to these terrorists in the future by requiring trials and ensuring that the death penalty remains,” Rep. Mike Lawler, D-N.Y., said over the weekend. “Anything less would be a disservice to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice that day and in the months and years that followed.”
Lawler’s district is just north of New York City, where two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers nearly 23 years ago, killing more than 2,600 people and still affecting the lives of emergency medical technicians who developed cancer as a result of their life-saving efforts.
Lawmakers, families of 9/11 victims react to plea deal with terrorists: ‘A slap in the face’
Plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 defendants were recently cancelled. (Associated Press)
Hundreds more were killed when a passenger plane crashed into the Pentagon and into a vacant lot in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The introduction of the bill came after the Department of Defense announced that three men awaiting trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for allegedly masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had entered into pretrial agreements with the U.S. government.
Details of the plea deals for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Mohammed Saleh Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi were not immediately released, but reports said they would avoid the death penalty.
Biden-Harris Administration Rescinds Plea Deal for 9/11 Terrorists
Rep. Mike Lawler is working to prevent future plea deals from being made available to 9/11 plotters. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The White House said it had no involvement in the plea deal, which was withdrawn after intense backlash just two days after it was announced, and the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was not consulted before the deal was reached.
Lawler’s bill would not only preserve the death penalty, it would also prevent conspiracy suspects from being transferred out of Guantanamo Bay.
The bill is co-sponsored by House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (D-NY) and Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (D-NY).
Blocking plea deals would also ensure that defendants would face trial, something that several advocates for the families of Sept. 11 victims say the plea deals deny.
9/11 mastermind and two others reach plea deal while awaiting trial, leaving victims’ families “deeply disappointed”
The Pentagon was one of three locations attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Charles Darapac, File)
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Brett Eagleson, president of a grassroots group of victims’ families called 9/11 Justice, said in a statement earlier this month that he was “deeply troubled” by the plea deal.
“While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains obtaining information from these individuals. These plea agreements should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements where critical information is hidden without giving victims’ families the opportunity to know the full truth,” Eagleson said at the time.
