The Obama administration announced today that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected chief orchestrator behind the 9/11 attacks nearly 10 years go, will by tried by a military commission and not in civilian court like it had planned. In 2009, the administration announced they would try the 9/11 terror suspect in New York federal court, but received complaints from lawmakers and other activists. In a statement released today, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer called the announcement "the final nail in the coffin of that wrong-headed idea" and that "the perpetrators of this horrible crime should get the ultimate penalty." U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference today that despite this announcement, federal courts might still be the best place to try people like Mohammed. "Let me be very clear," he said. "Our national security demands that we continue to prosecute terrorists in federal courts and we will do so." Holder noted that nearly 3,000 people had been killed the in the 9/11 attacks. "The case has always been about delivering justice for those victims and for their surviving loved ones. It is about nothing else," he said.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
H.O.Tennant of 11:25AM April 06, 2011
Paul of OH 5:16PM April 04, 2011