A ‘Just and Honorable Decision’

(TheIndependentStar.com) – In one of the very few positive acts coming out of the Biden administration, relatives of the victims of the September 11 attacks and members of Congress have commended Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for a “just and honorable decision.”

Austin revoked plea agreements that would have exempted three alleged conspirators of the terrorist atrocities from facing the death penalty.

Besides lauding the defense secretary, they now advocate for the immediate scheduling of a trial, The New York Post reports.

“Thank God!” exclaimed Kathy Vigiano, widow of NYPD Detective Joseph Vigiano, who perished in the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives on that fateful day in 2001.

She expressed her relief upon learning about the annulment of the plea deals for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed—the purported architect behind the al Qaeda operations—and his two accused accomplices, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

Joseph Vigiano’s sibling, FDNY firefighter John Vigiano, also lost his life while responding to the catastrophe at the World Trade Center.

Kathy Vigiano, now retired from the police force, articulated her family’s satisfaction that Secretary Austin had rescinded what they deemed an unsuitable plea agreement.

She expressed a longing for the delivery of justice that has been long awaited by her family and others who have endured suffering.

Patty Coughlin, whose husband NYPD Emergency Services Unit Sgt. John Coughlin also fell victim to the attacks, argued that the trio, detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2003, warranted the harshest penalty available.

“They have been catered to and abused our system for over 20 years. Justice has to be served,” Coughlin stated to The Post, advocating for the trial to commence without delay.

Sally Regenhard, mother of Christian Regenhard—one of the 343 firefighters who perished on 9/11—commended Austin’s unexpected decision as a restoration of faith in the nation’s justice system.

“I and my colleagues, which include FDNY members, would like to thank Mr. Austin and the Biden administration for this just and honorable decision,” Regenhard remarked, voicing her initial dismay and outrage at the administration’s preliminary move to propose plea deals to the accused terrorists.

Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) lauded Austin’s action while emphasizing the protracted delay in administering justice.

“While we’re pleased to hear that Secretary Austin has withdrawn this unacceptable plea deal, the fact remains that it has been 23 years since the worst terrorist attack on American soil and the families of 9/11 victims, the first responders still suffering and dying today, and all Americans, deserve justice,” Malliotakis declared.