First Thing: Chief 9/11 plotter pleads guilty in Guantánamo Bay deal
In exchange for removing the death penalty as a possible punishment, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other accused plead guilty. Plus, extreme heat at the Olympics
Good morning.
Three men accused of being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack have agreed to plea deals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prosecutors said.
Who are the three? Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (widely seen as the lead plotter), Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash', and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi. Two of the men were tortured by their US interrogators, including subjecting Mohammed to a record 183 rounds of waterboarding.
How long have they been detained by the US? Since 2003. Over the years, the case had become bogged down in lengthy pre-trial proceedings. Defense lawyers argued evidence obtained by torture rendered it unusable in legal proceedings.
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