Talks being held in attempt to avert death penalty for 9/11 defendants: NYT

Prosecutors are in talks with the lawyers for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, along with his four co-defendants, in an attempt to avoid execution, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

These discussions, which reportedly began last week, come after more than a decade of Pentagon prosecutors trying to hold a trial for the accused accomplices.

Pleading guilty in exchange for life sentences could bring a close to these cases, which nearly a decade after arraignment have not seen a trial date set, though this is not expected to happen soon, according to the NYT report.

If these defendants plead guilty in exchange for life, the report suggests that the Biden administration could “rebrand” the facility at Guantanamo Bay “as a military prison for a few men.”