Quincy Reporter

Congresswoman Mary Miller spoke against the plea deal announced for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two conspirators in the 9/11 attacks, stating, "The 3,000 Americans we lost deserve real justice." She made the statement in an August 1 Facebook post.

"Heartbreaking to see the Biden-Harris Administration cut a plea deal for the 9/11 terrorists," said Mary E. Miller, U.S. Representative of Illinois's 15th congressional district (R), according to Facebook. "The 3,000 Americans we lost deserve real justice. Kamala Harris has failed every test of leadership with her silence, and Biden has disappeared altogether. America deserves better."

According to the New York Post, the White House learned of the plea agreement on Wednesday, July 31. The court proceedings are taking place within the military justice system. The New York Post reported that "[the] agreement struck between the Convening Authority for Military Commissions and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi – who stand accused of providing training, financial support and other assistance to the 19 terrorists who hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa. on Sept. 11, 2001 – will allow the three men to skirt the death penalty."

Screenshot of Mary Miller's Aug. 1 Facebook post | Congresswoman Mary Miller's Facebook page

Mohammed’s lead attorney, Gary B. Sowards, told ABC News that "the agreement does not include the death penalty but means his client will essentially serve life in prison," according to a July 31 report. This deal involves three of the five September 11 defendants held at Guantanamo Bay. The trial for these individuals has been stalled for nearly a decade.

ABC News reports that a copy of a letter sent to families of 9/11 victims states that with "the death penalty off the table, the three defendants will plead guilty to all charges, including the murder of 2,976 people." They will also answer questions from family members about their roles and reasons for the attacks. A panel of military officers will sentence these men.

Mary Miller is currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing Illinois’ 15th district. She replaced former U.S Congress member John Shimkus in 2021. Miller graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a BA.

Miller was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1959 and currently resides in Oakland. She has seven children and twenty grandchildren and continues to run her fourth-generation family farm with her husband.