A military judge has ruled that plea agreements in the Sept. 11 case were valid, making it possible for the three prisoners accused of helping to plot the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to be sentenced to life in prison instead of death.

Col. Matthew McCall ruled Wednesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was too late and acting beyond his authority when he revoked the three separate pretrial agreements for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi on Aug. 2. Austin pulled the deals two days after a senior Pentagon........

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