USS Cole victim's mother awaits suspect's trial
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Saundra Norman, a Harrison County woman and the mother of a man killed in the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in 2000, returned from visiting Guantanamo Bay this weekend from the courtroom where the trial for the accused mastermind has been delayed yet again.
It has become the longest-running death penalty case at Guantanamo Bay. Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri is the man accused of plotting the attack that left 17 dead, including Kevin Rux, Norman's son. Al-Nashiri has been in custody since his arrest in 2002.
'I can't describe the feeling of seeing him again for the first time,' Norman told 12 News.
Al-Nashiri's various defense teams have argued that evidence against him was based on hearsay and torture. During last week's hearings, they told the military judge that the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to downsize have made it difficult for them to prepare for the trial, which was scheduled to begin this October.
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According to a transcript of the hearing posted on the court's website, defense attorney Allison Miller said: 'The quality of representation that I am offering Mr. Al Nashiri is currently below Strickland standards because I am dealing with DOGE-related activity more than I am dealing with the forward progress of this case.'
The judge delayed the trial until June of 2026 to allow the defense more time to prepare.
'They're not considering in any way us as the victims and the emotional roller coaster that we have continued to be on for 25 years,' said Norman.
Norman is one of a dwindling number of surviving family members of the victims of the attack. Her husband passed away last year.
'Everybody's tired. We're all tired,' said Norman. 'We all have health issues. We've all seen family members die and yet there's that tenacity in me that I can't give up. There has been healing. I have come a long way and yet there's no closure and I don't think there will ever be closure.'
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