USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Supreme Court Rejects Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Bid To Revive 9/11 Plea Deal
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Supreme Court rejected bid to revive Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's plea deal. Mohammed and two accomplices' appeals were denied by the Court.
Plea Deal Rejected
The Supreme Court rejected an effort to revive a plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11 attacks, and the decision left the risk of execution on the table.
The rejected agreement would have spared Mohammed the risk of execution in exchange for his guilty plea and a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Lloyd Austin threw out the deal in 2024, saying a decision on the death penalty in an attack as grave as Sept. 11 should only be made by the defense secretary.
The Supreme Court action also kept the case moving toward a trial date set for 2028, with Axios describing a “June 2028 military trial date.”
Who Recused, Who Ruled
Justice Brett Kavanaugh recused himself from the Supreme Court decision, and the high court denied the bid to reinstate plea agreements for Mohammed and two co-defendants.
CNN legal analyst Steve Vladeck said, “The practical effect of today’s denials of certiorari is to clear the way for the inexorable pre-trial proceedings in these cases to continue,” as the case returned to military courts.
CBS News reported that an unsigned order turned away the appeals from Mohammed, Mustafa al Hawsawi and Walid bin 'Atash, leaving the government’s withdrawal of the plea deals in place.
The D.C. Circuit had found Austin “indisputably” had authority to cancel the agreements, and CNN said the Supreme Court’s denial left that finding in place.
Next Steps and Stakes
The Supreme Court’s refusal to revive the plea deal removed a barrier to Mohammed standing trial before a military commission in 2028, where the death penalty is a possible punishment.
NBC News said Mohammed has been held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006, and it identified Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash as the other men set to face trial.
CNN said the agreements had prompted backlash from some groups representing 9/11 victims and their families, and it described the pretrial agreements as requiring guilty pleas and a public sentencing hearing.
ABC News said relatives of the Sept. 11 victims were split on the agreements, with some saying a trial was the best path to justice and others seeing the plea deal as the best hope for bringing the case to a conclusion.