Holder Unsure About Death Penalty for Terrorism Suspects in Military Tribunals
Sunday, July 11, 2010
New York, NY –
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says it's not clear whether a terrorism suspect like self-proclaimed 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed can face the death penalty if he were to plead guilty before a military commission.
HOLDER: You can certainly seek the death penalty. There are real questions to whether or not someone can plead guilty and get the death penalty on the military side; you can certainly do that in a civilian setting.
Holder made his comments on CBS News. Last year he proposed trying Mohammed and four alleged accomplices in civilian courts in New York City. But that idea generated so much controversy that it's all but been abandoned. Since January, Holder has said that all options are on the table, including the possibility of having them go before a military commission in Guantanamo Bay, where they are now held.
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