Nov 24, 2009 6:06 am US/Eastern
Controversy Grows Over 9/11 NYC Terrorist Trials
Civilian Trial Or Dangerous Terrorist Platform?
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is seen in an undated 2001 file photo, left; and he appears in detention in this March 3, 2003 photo. The Al Qaeda leader and confessed mastermind of September 11 terrorist attack will stand trial in New York City.
AP
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An image of a courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. military, shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (C) and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash (L) attending a pre-trial session on Dec. 8, 2008, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Janet Hamlin/Getty Images
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In this photo reviewed by US military officials, a detainee whose name, nationality, and facial identification are not permitted, walks within the grounds of the Camp 5 maximum security prison at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba, 26 June 2006.
Brennan Linsley/AFP/Getty Images
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The upcoming New York trials of five 9/11 terror suspects are already controversial. But now, one defense lawyer says those proceedings will allow the defendants to spout plenty of criticism of U.S. foreign policy.
Civilian trial or dangerous platform? That is the central question now in the debate over where the self-confessed planners of the 9/11 attacks should be tried.
On Sunday, the attorney for one of the defendants announced the five suspects would all plead not guilty, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks.
The attorney said the terror suspects would not deny their roles in the attack, but would explain "what they did, and why they did it" – using the trial as a political platform to criticize U.S. foreign policy.
Speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Attorney General Eric Holder said such rhetoric would only make the suspects look worse.
"I have every confidence that the nation, and the world, will see him for the coward that he is," Holder said. "I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial, and no one else needs to be afraid either."
"This is what makes America great. They do have a right to their opinion. They can say what they want to say. Everyone who has their heads, who is of right mind knows they were wrong and they will be convicted and dealt with," said Manhattan resident John McKinley.
Holder's critics pushed for the alleged plotters to be tried before a less public military commission, which would have also allowed for a more flexible standard of evidence, and, they say, a safer environment.
"I believe this decision is dangerous," said Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL). "I believe it is misguided."
Legal observers say while a federal civilian trial will not exactly provide them with an open ended opportunity for full blown propaganda speeches, the suspects may be heard on some level.
Defense attorney Brian Neary, who is not involved with the terror trial, says political banter will have no place and no effect in federal court.
"Politics is generally not one of those things that's considered a defense," Neary said. "Once they get to the penalty phase – whether or not they'll be imposed the death penalty – they may have an opportunity to present their views much more free-wielding.
"But it's not, again, a political opportunity for them to make a speech against America or on behalf of their own political concerns," Neary said.
Scott Fenstermaker represents one of the suspects in a separate civil suit.
He says his client's upcoming criminal trial, set to be held in federal court in lower Manhattan, will not provide a platform for terroristic propaganda.
"Their belief is that there's a defense for it," said Fenstermaker. "They say that they did it, but they want to present their defense and see what the jury thinks."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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