Nov 23, 2009 12:47 am US/Eastern
Lawyer: Terror Suspects To 'Explain' 9/11 Attacks
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 4 Other Detainees To Face Trial In Civilian Court In NYC
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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On Sunday, CBS 2 learned that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and his four co-defendants will plead not guilty, a controversial courtroom strategy for the 9/11 terror suspects. But apparently it's all part of a plan to make a very public political statement.
When the U.S. Department of Justice announced they would be trying the five alleged terrorists accused of orchestrating the September 11 attacks in New York Federal Court, the decision became a source of great debate.
"I don't have a problem with it being tried in a military jurisdiction," Upper West Side resident John McKinley said.
"Why should they be tried in a military court?" Adrienne Schure, who also lives on the Upper West Side, said. "It wasn't a military crime!"
On Sunday, the attorney for one of the defendants announced the five suspects would all plead not guilty, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, 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."
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.
"They can say whatever they want to say," McKinley said. "Everyone who is of right mind knows they were wrong, and I think they will be convicted and dealt with."
"Something should have been done way before now," Teresa Outlaw-Johnson said. "But still, the horror of the situation, people haven't forgotten."
And those people want justice now.
A start date for the trial has not yet been announced. For now, the terror suspects remain in custody at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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