U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has revoked a plea deal that would have allowed defendants in the September 11, 2001, attacks to avoid the death penalty.
On Wednesday, it was announced that prosecutors had reached a deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi to plead guilty to conspiracy charges.
Austin vetoed the deal, which had sparked controversy as it would have spared the trio from facing the death penalty at Guantanamo Bay, offering them instead life sentences.
Mohammed, alleged to be the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks that killed 2,977 people, was captured in Pakistan in 2003. He, along with bin Attash and al-Hawsawi, has been held at Guantanamo Bay since December 2006, as reported by Sky News.
The plea deal, which would have allowed the suspects to avoid the death penalty, faced criticism from the families of the September 11 victims.
