His attorneys had been imploring the Justice Department to remove the death penalty as a possibility if Khattala is ultimately convicted at trial.
| How much did he give the Clinton campaign? If it's good enough for the Dept. of Justice, it's good enough for defendants... |
Prosecutors have described him as a ringleader of the attacks, which quickly emerged as a political flashpoint and became the topic of congressional hearings involving Democratic presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as
For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillaryand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Timothy Pickering...
, who was secretary of state at the time of the rampage.
The 18-count indictment arises from a burst of violence that began the night of Sept. 11, 2012, at a State Department diplomatic compound, an attack prosecutors say was aimed at murdering American personnel and plundering maps, documents and other property from the post. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed, along with Sean Patrick Smith, a State Department information management officer.