• 9/11 Victim Programs
  • Victim Compensation Fund (VCF)
  • WTC Health Program (WTCHP)
  • Wrongful Death VCF Claims

9/11 victims deserve transparency. Not a plea deal with terrorists.

Since the terrorist attacks 23 years ago, every day I represent people with claims before the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Not one has told me they have been asked about plea deals.

Troy G. Rosasco
Opinion contributor published in USA Today
 

On July 31, 2024, a letter from the Department of Defense’s (read letter here). Office of the Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions conveyed a disheartening message: The U.S. government had reached a plea bargain with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his 9/11 coconspirators.

This plea deal, which sought to remove the death penalty from consideration, represented a critical misstep in the pursuit of justice for the 9/11 community.

Thankfully, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rightly intervened to block this agreement − marking the second time in two years that officials have taken a stand against plea negotiations that undermine the pursuit of full justice.

The plea deal would have allowed the architects of the attacks to avoid a full trial and the possibility of the death penalty. Such a resolution is deeply problematic, regardless of your position on capital punishment. The Office of the Chief Prosecutor offered information about the proposed plea deals only to “a verified victim family member.”

A “verified victim family member” indicates that the Office of the Chief Prosecutor continues to request opinions primarily from the families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001.

What about the more than 37,000 certified 9/11 victims who are battling cancer and other serious physical and psychological illnesses? Don’t they get a say on the plea deals?