25 Years on, 9/11 Victim’s Family Still Awaiting Justice
The US government has called the 9/11 attacks the “most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history”. Yet just 25 years later, families are still waiting for a trial that has not even begun.
John Resta’s brother John and his wife Sylvia—who was seven months pregnant—were among almost 3,000 who lost their lives when planes slammed into the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001. The family was in their home’s nursery, painting the walls with Blue’s Clues characters, dreaming of a future that would never come.
Today, Resta, who has visited Guantanamo Bay on four separate trips to watch pre‑trial hearings for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), says the timeline for justice is eroding. His father, now 98, and other relatives fear they may die before a court can bring charges to a close.
The longest pre‑trial process in U.S. history has now stretched across five military judges, with victims’ families clinging to the hope of a verdict before the aging defendants pass away. In June 2028, a military court has set a trial date, but the new judge declared confessions obtained during CIA “black‑site” interrogations inadmissible on the grounds that the defendants were tortured.
Experts say torture is the root cause of the delay. “Every single issue has been litigated through torture” (Kasey McCall‑Smith, Edinburgh University), noting that the interrogations included waterboarding and stress positions.
Meanwhile, 8,976 victims’ relatives—like Stephan Gerhardt, who traveled to Guantanamo in 2025—express frustration at the plea deal that would forego a public trial and potential death penalty. For Gerhardt, the dream of seeing the defendants convicted has been replaced by a desire to move on from the constant mental toll of this grief.
Resta’s stance: he supports the plea as a step toward conviction, saying the defendants are “not the kind of people that should be out walking the streets”. The opposing voice is Brett Eagleson, whose father was killed in the attacks, who insists on a “full trial” to allow the public to see the truth.
With every anniversary, the collective memory turns into a historical event in the public eye, yet for families like Resta’s, 9/11 remains “constantly on their mind” – a weight that will not lift until justice is at least attempted. The looming court battle at Guantanamo promises to last about a year, but whether it will finally close the case and allow families to breathe remains uncertain.
