9/11 families, first responders call for death penalty against attack plotters
NEW YORK - After Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin canceled plea deals for the alleged 9/11 mastermind and two accomplices, there's mounting pressure for new action.
The trial has been delayed for years. Victims' families and survivors say they want the feds to set a trial date and seek the death penalty.
Beth Murphy was battling melanoma in 2001. For the past 23 years, she's been fighting for justice for her husband Kevin Murphy, who worked on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center. Their children were 4 and 7.
"I was battling melanoma. All my lymph nodes were taken out of my right leg. He was crying at my bedside. A week later, he was murdered," Beth Murphy said. "My kids writing a letter asking KSM why he killed their dad. That is disgusting."
KSM is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, who has been in U.S. custody since 2003.
Last week, the Department of Justice told loved ones of the nearly 3,000 people killed that, in a plea deal, the terrorists would answer victims' families questions and avoid the death penalty in exchange for life in prison. Austin revoked the deal sparing the death penalty for Mohammed and associates Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, writing in a memo that "responsibility for such a decision should rest with me."
"I applaud Secretary Austin's decision to put the death penalty back on the table for these murderers," said Andy Ansbro, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. "They should spend every day they have left in fear that their lives will be cut short. It's a fear that many New York City firefighters live with, and the actions of these terrorists have put thousands of others on death row. Each month we lose more, as more New York City firefighters continue to die, while these men would be spared the ultimate justice for their crimes - it's disgraceful."
Survivors want justice immediately.
"Since that day, they've murdered thousands - 1,004 members of FDNY responded that. Over a quarter of my members are sick," World Trade Center liaison for Local 2507 EMTs and Paramedics Gary Smiley said.
"These families want their day in court," PBA President Patrick Hendry said. "They were masterminds behind the deadliest attack on our freedom, and there is evil right now around this world seeing what happens with this case."
Terry Strada of 9/11 Families United is part of a lawsuit accusing the Saudi government of involvement.
"We need to know who inspired them, who funded them, and who provided the critical support to see their murderous vision through," Strada said.
"These murderous terrorists deserve the death penalty, and anything less is unacceptable to our first responders and the loved ones here today," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said. "That is why we're calling for the trial date to be set. Stop wasting time."
"When do you see a lawsuit go 23 years?" Murphy said.
The group September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows said in a statement the plea reversal was "emotional whiplash," and the agreements "offered a path to finality, and a modicum of justice and accountability for the crimes of 9/11."
Why have the cases taken so long?
The cases against Mohammed and the others have been stuck in a legal quagmire since 2008 because the three underwent "enhanced interrogation techniques," or torture, in CIA custody before they moved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The legal delays have had to do with whether evidence extracted during their interrogations is admissible in court.
The White House said it played no role in the initial plea deal agreement. The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee said it was launching an investigation into whether the White House was involved.