![Pentagon says no death penalty for Canadian Guantanamo detainee](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] The Pentagon has said it will not seek the death penalty against Omar Ahmed Khadr [CBC Khadr family profile], an 18-year-old Canadian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] who admitted throwing a grenade [JURIST report] that killed a US medic while fighting with the Taliban in 2002. The decision, announced Tuesday, has pleased the Canadian government, which had sought assurances that Khadr would not face execution, as he was only 15 when he allegedly committed the crime. The US Defense Department may have been additionally prompted by a US Supreme Court decision in March to strike down the death penalty for minors [JURIST report]. Some legal experts believe the decision applies to military commissions as well as federal and state courts. From Toronto, the Globe and Mail has local coverage.