Three men accused of helping orchestrate the Sept. 11 terror attacks struck a plea deal with prosecutors, according to the Department of Defense.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi "entered into pretrial agreements" with Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, the DOD announced Thursday.
The men, who had been in U.S. custody since 2003, agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy in exchange for life sentences, instead of standing a death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, The New York Times reported, citing prosecutors.
The plea deal was approved by a senior Pentagon official, according to a source with knowledge on the arrangement.
Family members of victims were first notified of the plan in a letter from federal prosecutors.
"In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet," the letter authored by Rear Adm. Aaron Rugh read, according to the Times.
Rugh admitted that after "12 years of pretrial litigation" the decision "was not reached lightly. However, it is our collective, reasoned and good-faith judgment that this resolution is the best path to finality and justice in this case."
Mohammad is accused of devising the plan to hijack airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, and crash them into New York City buildings. He presented the idea to Osama bin Laden and helped train the terrorists, prosecutors said.
