SOME NEWS IS NEVER OLD:  The 9-11 attacks come back to remind us to stay on guard.  From the New York Post: 

The Pentagon and FBI have notified some of the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks that suspected terrorist mastermind Kalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other defendants could be spared the death penalty under plea agreements being considered by the Biden administration. 

The notice came in the form of a letter, obtained by the Associated Press, that was sent to 9/11 families as the government explores how to resolve the more than decade-long prosecution of the alleged terrorists. 

“The Office of the Chief Prosecutor has been negotiating and is considering entering into pre-trial agreements,” the letter informs families, adding that while no plea agreement “has been finalized, and may never be finalized, it is possible that a [pre-trial agreement] in this case would remove the possibility of the death penalty.”

The Associated Press reports that in the letter, dated Aug. 1, military prosecutors pledge to consider the views of the 9/11 families before accepting any plea deals, and the note asks recipients to respond to the FBI’s victim services division by Monday with any comments or questions about the potential agreements. 

The case involving Mohammed and the four others currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been mired in legal disputes and delays, particularly concerning the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by CIA operatives after the men were apprehended. 

Some relatives of the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks expressed outrage over the possibility of plea deals being made. 

“How can you have any faith in it?” Jim Riches, a retired deputy fire chief in New York City who lost his son Jimmy – also a firefighter – on Sept. 11, 2001, told the Associated Press about the government’s update. 

“No matter how many letters they send, until I see it, I won’t believe it,” Riches said about the prospect of justice for his son’s death, lamenting that “those guys are still alive. Our children are dead” nearly 22 years after the attacks. 

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  Oh, and when do the "prosecutors" of Donald Trump want his trials to start?  Did you say "March 4th of next year"?  Why, you're correct. 

I didn't even know the alleged 9-11 collaborators were still alive, and haven't even been tried.  But former President Trump?  Hey, let's get going!  Our side talks about a double standard of justice in America.  It's more like a triple standard.

I have no interest in debating the death penalty.  That is a long and complex discussion.  But I think it's absurd that the accused collaborators have not yet been put before a jury.  Maybe it's just low priority by some influential forces in Washington.

I'd say that the press should investigate the whole matter, but I frankly wouldn't trust American journalism to do the job.

August 16, 2023

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