Professor Amann Co-authors Amicus Brief in Guantánamo Case
Professor Diane Marie Amann coauthored an amicus curiae brief submitted by the National Institute of Military Justice (NIMJ) in United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, et al., the case against the man alleged to have masterminded the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and his accomplices. At least some of the defendants are alleged to have been "waterboarded" during their interrogations, raising questions as to the admissibility of guilty pleas submitted in December.
The brief, of which Professor Amann is one of five co-authors, argues that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 prohibits the imposition of the death penalty unless the accused has been "convicted... by the concurrence of all the members," and thus prohibits the death penalty following a guilty plea. The brief also asserts that the military judge is not required to accept the defendants' guilty plea, and should not do so in this case.
Professor Amann journeyed to Guantánamo Bay to observe the trial proceedings in December. Issues related to post-9/11 detention, interrogation, and prosecution are a focus of her scholarship, with articles published in Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Columbia Journal of Transnational Law.