WASHINGTON — A plan under consideration by the Obama administration would permit Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees facing the death penalty to plead guilty without a full trial, it has been reported.

This option would principally be aimed at a group of detainees accused of planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, five people who have already indicated they prefer this resolution of the case, The New York Times reported.

The terrorism-era U.S. military commission format has come under criticism from legal and human rights quarters, and American military prosecutions employing this structure and legal rules have for the most part been put on hold since January while the new administration considered other options.

President Barack Obama recently approved the continued use of these commissions. And the Times reported in its story the possibility of permitting guilty pleas under some circumstances is among a series of options circulated within the administration by a special task force.

The possible elements of legislation on tribunals and how to handle difficult Guantánamo cases are not developed enough yet to even have been presented to the president for discussion, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the entire matter is still in the early stages.