https://blue.feedland.org/?river=http://data.feedland.org/blue/feeds/tmcdermo.xml Thu, 02 May 2024 12:14:20 GMT feedland v0.6.43 https://cyber.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Thu, 02 May 2024 12:14:22 GMT http://rpc.rsscloud.io:5337/pleaseNotify Thu, May 2, 2024 8:14 AM EDT <p>The lead prosecutor in the Guantanamo 9/11 trial said today plea deal discussions for the men accused of planning the attacks continue. Government prosecutors and defense attorneys for the four men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, negotiated a tentative deal in 2022.</p> <p>Mohammed (KSM) is the confessed mastermind of the plot. That proposed deal would have removed the death penalty as possible punishment. The deal required agreement from the Biden administration, which let the proposal sit idle for 15 months before declining to endorse it.</p> <p>The most contentious aspects of the deal involved conditions of confinement for the defendants after sentencing. They sought post conviction communal confinement (as opposed to solitary) and improved medical care. All of the four defendants were tortured while in CIA custody for more than three years. Gary Sowards, KSM&#39;s lead lawyer, said they wanted some sort of assurance they would not be returned to the CIA after sentencing.</p> <p>Sowards likened the Biden administration&#39;s refusal to discuss the request to the actions of a &quot;petulant teenager&quot; who went to his room, slammed the door and refused to talk.</p> <p>Pre-trial hearings are nearing the end of their 12th year. The main cause of the length of the hearings has been defense inability to discover details of the torture and what continuing effects it is has had on the defendants.</p> <p>Two of the seven men originally named in the case have been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, presumably as a result of their torture. No trial date is set. At least two of the others have traumatic brain injuries.</p> Thu, 02 May 2024 12:14:20 GMT https://blue.feedland.org/?item=371190 https://blue.feedland.org/?item=371190 The lead prosecutor in the Guantanamo 9/11 trial said today plea deal discussions for the men accused of planning the attacks continue. Government prosecutors and defense attorneys for the four men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, negotiated a tentative deal in 2022. Mohammed (KSM) is the confessed mastermind of the plot. That proposed deal would have removed the death penalty as possible punishment. The deal required agreement from the Biden administration, which let the proposal sit idle for 15 months before declining to endorse it. The most contentious aspects of the deal involved conditions of confinement for the defendants after sentencing. They sought post conviction communal confinement (as opposed to solitary) and improved medical care. All of the four defendants were tortured while in CIA custody for more than three years. Gary Sowards, KSM's lead lawyer, said they wanted some sort of assurance they would not be returned to the CIA after sentencing. Sowards likened the Biden administration's refusal to discuss the request to the actions of a "petulant teenager" who went to his room, slammed the door and refused to talk. Pre-trial hearings are nearing the end of their 12th year. The main cause of the length of the hearings has been defense inability to discover details of the torture and what continuing effects it is has had on the defendants. Two of the seven men originally named in the case have been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, presumably as a result of their torture. No trial date is set. At least two of the others have traumatic brain injuries.