The US Supreme Court has declined to review former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's decision to cancel plea agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants accused of plotting the September 11, 2001, attacks, Geo News reported.
Key points
- The court turned away the three men's appeals in an unsigned order
- The defendants are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not take part
- The deals would have spared the men the death penalty
What the court did
In an unsigned order, the justices rejected appeals from Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash, who argued that the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overstepped its authority when it sided with the government last year. The ruling leaves the deals revoked and sends the long-stalled case back to the military courts.
What the deals offered
Reached in 2024 after more than two years of negotiations, the agreements would have spared the defendants the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas on all counts and a public sentencing hearing at which they would answer questions from victims' relatives and survivors.
Military prosecutors and the Pentagon's top official for Guantanamo Bay had approved the deals before Austin cancelled them unilaterally, saying such an important decision should be his to make.
The legal road
According to Geo News, a military judge found the agreements valid and enforceable in 2024, but a military appeals court and then the DC Circuit ruled that Austin clearly had the power to withdraw from them. The Trump administration continued to defend Austin's move.
More on Geo News.