Articles of Interest: U.S. Senator, Former U.S. Solicitor General and Victim’s Family Member Express Support for 9/​11 Plea Deals

Theodore B. Olson, former U.S. Solicitor General from 2001 to 2004, who lost his wife in the September 11^th terror attacks, says he felt relief upon hearing the announcement that three of the defendants entered into an agreement to plead guilty in exchange for removal of the death penalty as a sentencing option. However, Mr. Olson writes that his relief was short-lived when within 48 hours of the announcement Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the plea agreement. Mr. Olson believes this decision “was an error.” He writes that “the plea deals were the best possible resolution to the tragedy of 9/11 and should go forward.” Per the agreement, the three defendants would have pled guilty, waived their right to appellate proceedings, and answered questions from 9/11 victim families. 

At first, Mr. Olson said, he supported the military commission’s proceedings at Guantánamo Bay, but came to realize that “despite the government’s best intentions, we have been mired in seemingly endless litigation, largely focused on the treatment of detainees and on government secrecy.” Mr. Olson acknowledges that many 9/11 victims felt betrayed by the government’s abandonment of the death penalty for all three defendants. He writes that “as both a 9/11 victim family member and a lawyer, I have reluctantly concluded that the government has proved itself unable to bring this case to trial, secure convictions and obtain death sentences that would survive the inevitable federal court appeals.” Mr. Olson, in agreement with prosecutors, says he believes that a plea deal would bring “finality and justice” to all those involved.

Mr. Olson “was disheartened” to hear that Secretary Austin “mistakenly believed all victims’ families demanded commission trials and moved to withdraw the agreements negotiated and signed by his own prosecutors.” He urges Secretary Austin to respect the agreement reached between prosecutors and the accused, so “we can begin to close this painful chapter in our nation’s history.” In a letter to Sec. Austin, Senator Dick Durbin expressed similar frustrations, writing that he is “troubled by [Sec. Austin’s] decision to revoke the guilty pleas that, in the reasoned judgment of the prosecutors of the case, were the best path forward to finality and justice.” Sen. Durbin also urges Sec. Austin to “assess whether proceedings with the failed and broken commissions can realistically provide the families with a better outcome that pleas.”