PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Plea deals under consideration could mean that those accused of coordinating the September 11th terror attacks might avoid the death penalty. The Bucks County mother of one of the victims shared her thoughts about this latest development.
Judi Reiss’ son Joshua died in his office at financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The Pentagon and FBI this month advised families of some of the thousands killed that, if prosecutors agree, the 9/11 defendants would plead guilty and, in exchange, they would not receive the death penalty.
“Basically it was an update. And then we got from the prosecutors that no decision’s been made. They would plead guilty for not receiving the death penalty. That's basically a deal,” said Reiss of Lower Makefield Township.
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The notice comes 1 1/2 years after military prosecutors and defense lawyers began exploring a negotiated resolution to the case. While no plea agreement has been finalized, and a plea agreement may never be finalized, it is possible that a pre-trial agreement in this case would remove the possibility of the death penalty.
The prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others held at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been troubled by repeated delays and legal disputes — especially over the legal ramifications of the alleged use of torture methods to gain information from the defendants while they were initially in CIA custody.
No trial date has been set.
Reiss says, while her family is outraged, she is conflicted about the death penalty.
“I just don't want to lower myself to their level. I just don't. ... I'm not there,” Reiss said.
“As the ringleader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed went to school here in the United States and really liked us then. He's not a poor person that grew up not knowing right from wrong. He had come from an extraordinarily wealthy family. And there are other people that I wish weren't breathing, but I wish they'd, like, self implode.”
But, she said, she would welcome an end to her family’s ordeal.
“If we don't accept this deal, how many years more is this trial going to continue? It has to end somewhere.”
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She says if the 9/11 defendants get life sentences, she wants them imprisoned off of U.S. soil.
“I don't care what foreign prison the Americans have that they can put them in,” she said. “But if they come on this soil, we're just going to get every one that sympathizes with them there.”
She adds this is a difficult time of the year for her, as another anniversary approaches.
“Josh was only 23, and it has been 22 years. Next year, he will be dead as long as he was alive — and I’ve always been afraid people would forget him.”
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The Associated Press has contributed to this report.