Federal Death Penalty
Death Penalty Information Center Page: Additional Information on the Federal Death Penalty
Overview
People serving in the military are subject to a separate system of laws, courts, and procedures. Defendants retain certain rights guaranteed under the constitution, such as the right to representation.
The military death penalty has been used sparsely outside times of war. Only a few individuals are on the military death row, which is based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. All were convicted of murder. There have been no executions in the modern era of the death penalty.
The military also has jurisdiction over military commissions, which are tribunals convened to try people accused of unlawful conduct associated with war, such as those established in Guantánamo Bay after the September 11, 2001 attacks. No one has been sentenced to death under these commissions.
News & Developments
News
Apr 17, 2025
Guantanamo Judge Rules Government Cannot Use Confession Obtained Through Torture in 9/11 Capital Case
On April 11, 2025, Judge Colonel Matthew McCall ruled that confessions elicited from Ammar al-Baluchi, accused of conspiring in the September 11th terrorism attacks, were the result of torture carried out by the CIA and as a result cannot be used against Mr. al-Baluchi in any legal proceeding. According to Col. McCall, Mr. al-Baluchi involuntarily incriminated himself in 2007 after extensive“psychological conditioning” through torture and abuse during his…
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Jan 06, 2025
Military Appeals Court Rules 9/11 Defendants Can Plead to Avoid Death Sentences
On December 30, 2024, a military appeals court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to throw out plea deals reached for three men charged in the September 11 terrorism attacks. The court affirmed Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling in November 2024 that the plea agreements reached in July 2024 are valid. Col. McCall stated at the time that he would proceed with the…
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News
Nov 26, 2024
Article of Interest: 9/11 Victim’s Daughter Writes Why She Supports Plea Deals for Perpetrators
In a Washington Post op-ed, Chanel Shum, a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, explains her support of plea agreements that would end decades of legal uncertainty and sentence three of the accused 9/11 defendants to life without parole. Ms. Shum was starting preschool when her father, See Wong Shum, was killed in the September 11 terrorist…
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News
Nov 13, 2024
Despite Military Judge’s Approval of 9/11 Plea Deal, Defense Secretary and Prosecutors Continue to Push Back
News
Aug 16, 2024
Articles of Interest: U.S. Senator, Former U.S. Solicitor General and Victim’s Family Member Express Support for 9/11 Plea Deals
Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore…
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