The jury in the Oklahoma City bombing trial failed to agree on a sentence on convicted conspirator Terry Nichols. It handed the decision to the judge yesterday, sparing the former farmhand's life.
The 12 jurors deliberated for two days before telling Judge Richard Matsch late on Tuesday that they were deadlocked. The judge announced in court yesterday morning that he would decide Nichols's fate.
The jury convicted Nichols last month of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter for the April 19th, 1995, bombing that killed 168 people. The split decision puzzled lawyers.
The jury's failure to reach a unanimous decision on the sentence spared Nichols the death penalty handed to co-conspirator Timothy McVeigh last June. Unlike the jury, Judge Matsch does not have the power to impose a death sentence. He can imprison Nichols for life or choose a shorter sentence.
Judge Matsch said he would not set a date for a sentencing hearing until he had heard submissions from defence and prosecution lawyers, which he told them to make by February 9th.
Nichols was impassive as the judge made his announcement in the Denver courtroom. The jurors looked sombre but showed no obvious emotion, in contrast to the situation on Tuesday, when two were in tears.
Outside the court, Ms Marsha Kight, whose daughter was killed in the bombing, expressed bitter disappointment.
"I'm mad. I'm disgusted," said Ms Kight, who opposes the death penalty but wanted a life sentence for Nichols. "I'd like to know what's going on in those people's minds."
Prosecutors, who had argued that Nichols and McVeigh were equally responsible, were also clearly disappointed.
In a verdict that was a blow to the government, Nichols was acquitted last month of murder and of carrying out the attack, and he faced the death penalty only for conspiracy. McVeigh was convicted of all charges, including first degree murder.