Plea deal could shield 9/11 suspects from death penalty

Families of some of the nearly 3,000 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks received a letter this week from federal agencies that said officials are considering a plea agreement for several suspects. Though an agreement has not been finalized, the letter stated that such an agreement could remove the possibility of the death penalty for five defendants in the terrorist attack. The letter came a year and a half after military prosecutors and defense lawyers began negotiating an end to the case.

Why has the case dragged on for so long? Authorities in the early 2000s captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected architect of the attack, and four other defendants who allegedly helped the al-Qaida plane hijackers. The five suspects are being held at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Legal disputes, particularly over interrogations and torture they experienced while in CIA custody, have delayed their prosecution. A trial date has not been set.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine about how 9/11 turned the FBI into a political weapon.