Appellate court okays cancellation of 9/11 plotters' plea deals
July 12 (UPI) -- A divided federal appellate court panel canceled plea deals for three defendants who are accused to plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,976 in 2001.
A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed by a 2-1 decision that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin legally rescinded existing plea deals with the three defendants.
The defendants include alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, NPR reported on Friday.
The three defendants are being held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where a military court last summer announced the plea deals last summer.
Austin withdrew the plea agreements two days later, which raised the question of whether or not he had the authority to do so.
The plea agreement would have spared the three men from execution and instead would have sentenced each to life in prison.
Austin wanted the case to continue with a trial that included the potential for the death penalty.
The cases against the three men have been ongoing for more than 20 years amid a slew of pretrial hearings.
Military prosecutors determined a plea deal was the best way to resolve the matter.
A U.S. military court had okayed the plea agreements, and defense attorneys argued Austin lacked the authority to negate them because he didn't like the terms.
The federal appellate court on Friday ruled Austin had the authority to terminate the plea agreements.
Defense attorneys have the option of appealing the decision to a full panel of the federal appellate court in the nation's capital or the Supreme Court.
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