This week, we were reminded again of the 9/11 attacks. First, it was reported that U.S. government lawyers and defense counsel reached a plea deal giving life imprisonment to the high-level al Qaeda prisoners that plotted the attacks. While life imprisonment is undoubtedly a serious punishment, 9/11 was a mass murder that cries out for the death penalty. The lack of proportionality to the offense was striking.
Worse, the family members of 9/11 victims were not given any forewarning or a chance to provide input on this decision, even though the government had promised to do so. They instead received an antiseptic letter explaining what happened after the fact.
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