GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Steve Strauss stands with Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathanael Diaz in front of the Camp Justice sign, where part of the Maritime Safety and Security Team 91101 landside security mission is focused, July 23, 2009. MSST 91101 is deployed to U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to perform maritime anti-terrorism and force protection duties for Joint Task Force Guantanamo. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released by a court. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations. (JTF Guantanamo photo by Army Spc. April D. de Armas) UNCLASSIFIED – Cleared for public release. For additional information contact JTF Guantanamo PAO 011-5399-3589; DSN 660-3589 www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil
A military appeals court has ruled that the plea deals of three 9/11 defendants, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, can proceed, allowing them to avoid the death penalty. The plea deals had been announced in July, and in August Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had attempted to withdraw them.
The deals would allow Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi to provide guilty pleas in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
The ruling affirms a November decision by a military judge, Air Force Colonel Matthew McCall, which found that the plea deals were still valid. The November decision argued that Austin lacked the authority to withdraw the deals and did so too late, after the deals had already been approved.
The Pentagon man may now choose to appeal the ruling again.
