The Associated Press recently reported that Attorney General Eric Holder is raising some questions regarding the feasibility of gaining the death penalty as the sentence for September 11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Essentially, there are two possible hurdles to having the death penalty handed down to Mohammed:
1. Location - whether Mohammed is tried within the United States and pleas guilty as he has already claimed his intent to plea
2. Court system - whether or not Mohammed is tried in a civilian court over a military court.
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Eric Holder says there's a real question about whether a terrorist suspect such as self-professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed can face the death penalty if he were to plead guilty before a military commission.
Holder proposed last year 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.
He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that it's possible to impose the death penalty in a civilian setting for someone who pleads guilty. But he says there's far less legal certainty about that possibility in a military setting.
Since January, Holder has said that all options are on the table about where to try Mohammed and the four other terrorist suspects. That includes the possibility of having them go before a military commission in Guantanamo Bay, where they are now
held.
Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, has proclaimed his involvement in the Sept. 11 plot and has said he wants to plead guilty and be executed, achieving what he views as martyrdom."
Of course, these raise several other questions. If Mohammed is aiming to receive the death penalty so that he can die what he perceives is a martyr's death - should we really jump at the chance to give it to him? And what of the cost? There are so many other things going on right now that need our attention and funding - should we really be spending who knows how much money trying to move Mohammed from Guantanamo Bay into the United States? On the other hand - would that cost be any higher than leaving them in Guantanamo Bay while everyone debates about it?
What would you prefer to see happen?
