Which is why it's outrageous that they would bother to put a charge which carries that penalty on the table in the first place, when that charge's applicability to the case is incredibly vague. I know the purported enemy that they're claiming he has aided is terrorism, but that's not even a specific entity or even very well defined term. It's been mostly used as criminalizing language against anything the U.S. establishment simply doesn't like. It's hard to reason their use for the charge for any reason other than putting the death penalty on the table, especially since reports seem to imply that this is the only capital offense involved. I've also seen no mention of Obama having to personally confirm an execution. Everyone's been reporting that it would be completely up to the judge.
Imagine two people seated at a table having a dispute. As one side discusses the grievances that are to be negotiated, they take a gun out of their pocket and place it on the table in front of them, explaining "This is a gun. Don't worry. I promise I have no intention of using it. I mean it's possible that I could, sure... I'm not even sure if it's loaded. Just... don't worry about it. I'm going to place it here... so we can both look at it... for no reason at all. Just don't worry about it."