We Can Accommodate That Request

9/11 planner, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad wants to get the death sentence.

The accused mastermind of the worst terror attack in U.S. history told a Guantanamo Bay court Thursday that he wants to be put to death.

After almost seven years, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators are facing a military judge in his first public appearance before a war-crimes tribunal.

Their arraignment Thursday is the highest-profile test yet of the controversial tribunal system, which is being challenged in court. It comes seven years after the attacks. All five face the death penalty if convicted.

I think he feels that he'd be considered a martyr for the cause of jihad. The US does have a death penalty for capital offenses, including those for which KSM is awaiting trial.

These terrorists have already received more due process and constitutional protections than any other group that has attacked the US and engaged in a war against the US. In prior conflicts, had such individuals been captured on the battlefields or in the streets, they would have been shot and killed after extracting whatever intel they claimed to have. Now, we have extended constitutional protections to individuals for whom such protections were never considered or warranted.