However, that didn't mean they had repented.

"I reaffirm my allegiance to Osama bin Laden," Ramzi Binalshibh blurted out in Arabic at the end of the hearing. "I hope the jihad continues and I hope it hits the heart of America with weapons of mass destruction."

Hamilton Peterson, of Bethesda, Maryland, and whose father and stepmother died on United 93, said the defendants s cba002 lat sjushowed a "complete lack of contrition" and deserved to be executed.

The formal confessions were delayed, however, when the judge said two of the defendants couldn't enter pleas until the court determines their mental competency. The other three said they would wait as well.

"Our plea request was based on joint strategy," said defendant Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali.

In a letter read aloud by the judge, the defendants implied they want to plead guilty, but did not specify whether they will admit to specific charges.

Their letter was so unexpected that the judge, Army Col. Stephen Henley, was unsure how to proceed. He noted that the law specifies that only defendants unanimously convicted by a jury can be sentenced to death in the tribunals. No jury has been seated.

Army Col. Lawrence Morris, the chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo tribunals, said he expects a jury would be created to hear evidence in a sentencing phase of the trial and would decide on what punishment to mete out to the defendants.

Hoagland told reporters that she hopes President-elect Barack Obama, "an even-minded and just man," would ensure the five men are punished, though she stressed that wouldn't heal the loss of her son.

... contd.