Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Can Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Get A Fair Trial In NYC?
By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 26, 2009
Modified Dec 25, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 26, 2009
Modified Dec 25, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It doesn't seem like political pressure or security concerns will stop the trials of five suspected terrorists from taking place in New York — but the city's prejudiced residents might. The lawyers representing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the four other suspected 9/11 plotters might ask a judge to relocate the trial, according to the Times.
In past terrorism trials, attorneys have requested changes in location based on the perceived bias of jurors. Considering that in one study, 58 percent of New Yorkers said they were "personally affected" by the terrorist attacks — more than double the number at other locations — the defense might feel like their best strategy is to move the trial elsewhere. That approach didn't work in the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was sentenced to death by a jury in Denver after his trial was moved. But it worked for his accomplice, Terry Nichols, who escaped death sentences in Denver and in a second trial in McAlester, Oklahoma.
That said, if the attorneys representing Mohammed think their "greatest legal obligation is not to win acquittal but to save his life," they might decide "there is no better place to try to do that than in a Manhattan federal courtroom." That's because local juries in federal court cases haven't imposed the death penalty against any of the six suspects who could have faced it since the punishment was reinstated more than 20 years ago. “Not all American jury pools have the diversity and open-mindedness that New Yorkers are famous for,” said Daniel C. Richman, a Columbia law professor and former federal prosecutor in Manhattan. “I suspect people elsewhere would probably be a whole lot quicker to close their ears to anything the defendants had to say.”
Tagged
9/11
fair trial
federal court
khalid shaikh mohammed
terror
terror trial
terrorism
Ben Muessig
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 11, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
For a Democrat in a traditionally red NJ district, how to woo Republican voters
The first-time Democrat says it’s still “a toss-up race” between her and incumbent GOP Rep. Tom Kean.
By
Mike Hayes
News
For a Democrat in a traditionally red NJ district, how to woo Republican voters
The first-time Democrat says it’s still “a toss-up race” between her and incumbent GOP Rep. Tom Kean.
By
Mike Hayes
2 pedestrians killed in Bronx crash after driver ran red light, police say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Ann Givens
Rain could put a damper on NYC’s long weekend. Here’s when it will clear.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Holy civics! NYC schools' own comic books in the spotlight at Comic Con
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .