Over the last week, the news cycle blew up over plea deals that had been offered to several 9/11 terrorists.
While most of the nation was outraged over the deals, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is now calling on Secretary Austin to restore the deals.
Talking Points…
- Plea deals announced and revoked
- Durbin calls for plea deals to be reinstated
- Analysis
The country was stunned when death penalty-free plea deals were announced for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and alleged co-conspirators Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. After the deals were announced, the Pentagon announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had not been consulted on the plea deals.
Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh stated:
"This is not something that the secretary was consulted on.
"We were not aware that the prosecution or defense would enter the terms of the plea agreement."
When Austin was made aware of the deals, he pulled the deals off the table, with Singh explaining:
"He believes that the families and the American public deserves the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case."
So, I guess the most obvious question is, if Austin was unaware of the deals, who approved them? That brings to light the next obvious question of who is calling the shots because leadership is failing at every level in this administration.
Just as troubling as those issues is the fact that we have a Democrat Senator, Dick Durbin, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, who is calling for these deals to be put back in place. Durbin stated:
"I urge Secretary Austin to reverse this deeply disappointing decision, which denies finality and justice to 9/11 families and exposes yet again the lack of independence that has haunted the military commissions from the outset."
Believe me, the families of 9/11 victims would not feel as though they were getting justice if these men were permitted to live their lives out in prison. They need to suffer the same fate as the people who lost their lives on 9/11, and anything short of that is unacceptable. Joe Connor, whose cousin, Steve Schlag, was killed on 9/11 and whose father, Frank, was killed in the 1975 FALN terrorist attack on the Fraunces Tavern in New York City, explained:
"You know, after seeing this, like, I'm so afraid we're not going to get justice for my cousin and all the thousands killed that day and their families."
The fact these men are still alive more than two decades after the attack is shameful. And this is the biggest problem with the death penalty and our justice system. These men should have been brought to justice immediately, yet the families of the victims have had to live with the fact these men have been breathing for more than two decades after their loved ones lost their lives. Durbin is an embarrassment and the fact that Austin had no clue this deal was being made is yet more proof that he should be removed from his post.
