Several New York Republican lawmakers have called for reinstating the death penalty for those responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Lawmakers including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) have voiced criticism over the scrapping of a plea deal between prosecutors and the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two co-conspirators. According to To the center square.
“I am pleased that Attorney General Austin has rescinded this unacceptable plea agreement, but it has been 23 years since the worst terrorist attack on American soil,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “The families of the 9/11 victims, the first responders who continue to suffer and die, and all Americans deserve justice.”
Malliotakis’ remarks were made after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Note In it, he announced he was taking over the case and withdrawing from “three pretrial agreements.”
“I have determined that given the importance of the decision to enter into pretrial agreements with the defendants in the above cases, the responsibility for such decisions should rest with me as the senior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote. “I hereby immediately revoke my authority to enter into pretrial agreements in the above cases and reserve that authority to myself. I am exercising my authority to immediately withdraw from the three pretrial agreements you signed on July 31, 2024 in the above cases.”
The now-withdrawn plea deal would have seen the terrorists plead guilty and serve life in prison in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
Lawler and Stefanick invoice The bill, called the “9/11 Justice Act,” aims to “address plea bargaining for certain individuals detained at Guantanamo, among other purposes.”
“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,” Lawler said, according to the outlet. “Anything less would be a disservice to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice that day and in the months and years that followed.”
