20+ Years Later, 3 of Dad’s Murderers Are Guilty

For seven years, I’ve agitated for a plea deal with the five wretches responsible for the death of my father, Richard Morgan. These five wretches killed my father and scores of his friends and fellow first responder colleagues on 9/11. A dozen of my mother’s friends lost spouses or children. If anyone deserved death, the 9/11 five stand at the head of the line.

“A plea deal?” you might ask. “F*ck that. Kill ‘em; just like they killed your father!”

Among my fellow members in The Club in Which I Do Not Wish to Belong, you would not be alone with such sentiments.

Yet, while a plea deal inclusive of an agreement not to impose the death sentence may seem less than appropriate, it is the practical solution.

Why?

If a perpetrator dies while awaiting trial, military legal precedent held aloft in opinions such as Coffin v. United States 156 U.S. 432 (1895) assumes their innocence. With such a likely occurrence, death would have delivered the perpetrators to eternity under the presumption of innocence. As years slipped by, Time sided with the perpetrators, ready to render a verdict of presumed innocence.

On the morning of 9/11, my father faced a ticking clock. I imagine him looking up to the burning towers and asking, “When might these buildings fall? How much time do we have to evacuate civilians to safety?” Prosecution faced a ticking clock as well. I imagine Prosecution leaders asking, “When will these defendants fall? How much time do we have to find them guilty." Time simply shrugged.

For over a decade the much admired and respected Prosecution Team fought to bring the GTMO five to trial.

For over a decade the equally respected Defense Team fought on behalf of their two sets of clients: 1) the five wretches responsible for the deaths on 9/11, and 2) the rule of law under the US Constitution.

While waging legal battle for over a decade, the Prosecution and Defense teams demonstrated America, even when violence and revenge are most desired, remains a land of laws. The Rule of Law was held high, even when least convenient.

For seven years, I proffered letters jammed with legal precedent and life expectancy tables to the honorable Convening Authorities Rishikof, Perritano, and Wood, to DoD’s Chief Prosecutor for Military Commissions, and to the Prosecution team, all suggesting we are now fighting six opponents: the five GTMO wretches + Time.

Time stood ready to render her verdict.

With Time on their side, it was clear the 9/11 perpetrators born in Yemen, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia during the years 1965 to 1978, subjected to interrogation prior to detainment at GTMO, and now held in GTMO captivity stood an increasing chance of succumbing to natural causes before the conclusion of a trial and appeal process. When applying years of birth to the life expectancy of men born in specific nations during those years, it became apparent two of the accused were living on borrowed Time.

With Time in mind, I asked Prosecution leaders to do that which is hardest and to make the best of the worst possible situation. With the plea deal, they did. And for that, I am forever in their debt. The Prosecution team found my father’s murderers guilty before Time had her say.

Sometimes it’s not about winning.

Sometimes, it’s about not losing, not giving up, and not letting Time make the decision for you.

Am I happy?

No, I’m not happy.

I don’t know what I am.

Truthfully, I’m pretty f*cked up.

I guess I’m resigned to having fought the fight we had to fight in order to beat the rendering of a verdict by Time.

Dad is still gone. And though I still love him, his smile fades with the tumbling tides of Time.

Time taps a patient finger. She raises a sharp eyebrow.

She renders her verdict.

“Not bad,” she smirks.