Victims' families invited to watch 9/11 hearings
NEW YORK (AP) - The families of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have been invited to military installations in four states to watch pretrial hearings in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for five men charged with planning or assisting the terrorist strike.
The hearings, which begin Monday, are closed to the public, but relatives who register in advance can watch on closed-circuit television at forts in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York City.
The suspects on trial before the military commission include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
An earlier round of hearings in May was also transmitted to viewing locations for relatives of the victims, survivors of the attacks, and emergency personnel who responded to the disaster.
Those proceedings were an exercise in frustration for some viewers, as the suspects refused to cooperate with the court, or interrupted proceedings to kneel in prayer.
Jim Riches, whose firefighter son, Jimmy, died at the World Trade Center, said he planned to view Monday's hearing at Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn.
"It's difficult for the families. But it is 10 years later, and we have no justice," Riches said. "I just wish it was being broadcast throughout the whole world so everyone could see it, and could see what these guys are like."
The nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks each have many relatives who could see the trial, but attendance at the first round of hearings last spring was light, with only a few dozen people at each site.
Riches said he didn't expect a large crowd for Monday's session either, largely due to the pain of reliving the attacks.
"A lot of people are moving on with their lives. A lot of people are just trying to forget about it and move on. But you can't, really. They aren't going to walk back in through the door," he said, referring to the victims.
The hearings, which begin Monday, are closed to the public, but relatives who register in advance can watch on closed-circuit television at forts in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York City.
The suspects on trial before the military commission include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
An earlier round of hearings in May was also transmitted to viewing locations for relatives of the victims, survivors of the attacks, and emergency personnel who responded to the disaster.
Those proceedings were an exercise in frustration for some viewers, as the suspects refused to cooperate with the court, or interrupted proceedings to kneel in prayer.
Jim Riches, whose firefighter son, Jimmy, died at the World Trade Center, said he planned to view Monday's hearing at Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn.
"It's difficult for the families. But it is 10 years later, and we have no justice," Riches said. "I just wish it was being broadcast throughout the whole world so everyone could see it, and could see what these guys are like."
The nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks each have many relatives who could see the trial, but attendance at the first round of hearings last spring was light, with only a few dozen people at each site.
Riches said he didn't expect a large crowd for Monday's session either, largely due to the pain of reliving the attacks.
"A lot of people are moving on with their lives. A lot of people are just trying to forget about it and move on. But you can't, really. They aren't going to walk back in through the door," he said, referring to the victims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COsKfM_LDUc
The terrorists they have should have been tried long ago and executed when appropriate. All these "detainees" are doing is serving as martyrs to their cause. What are they waiting for, all the witnesses to die of old age, or the terrorists themselves? I foresee most of them getting released eventually for lack of evidence, or in some sort of trade, or for time served. Â
It has been a bit too long, time to move on people. This has been dragged on long enough, to continue hearings. If they were proven guilty, then be done with it. To drag this out on and on is not good.
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""A lot of people are moving on with their lives. A lot of people are just trying to forget about it and move on. But you can't, really. They aren't going to walk back in through the door," he said, referring to the victims."
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 @Just Lookin Yes and no. The families must move on eventually. However, this case is different from other cases of murder trials in the U.S. The question of where these "men" would be tried was up in the air until April of 2011. It was thought for awhile that they would be tried in a district court in New York. Now we know that this will not happen, and that they will be tried in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay. But it is not like the victims' families COULD put it all behind them as quickly as victims' families usually do, because of the uncertainty of where the trial would even be held. It's dragging on for an agonizingly long time, but that is not entirely the fault of the victims' families.