Moussaoui gets life in prison

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 3 (UPI) -- Zacarias Moussaoui, the only suspect charged in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was given life in prison Wednesday by a federal jury in Virginia.

Though jurors unanimously found that Moussaoui should be sentenced to life on three counts, including conspiracy to commit an act of terror, a U.S. District Court spokesman said, "The jury did not find that the actions of the defendant resulted in the deaths of 3,000 people."

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema is expected to impose the sentence Thursday morning.

After sentencing, Moussaoui remained defiant, CNN reported, shouting, "You lost, America!"

The jury in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Va., had two choices in reaching a verdict: execution by lethal injection or life in prison.

"The jury has found that the defendant should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release," said court spokesman Edward Adams.

Moussaoui did not participate directly in the terror attacks, and was in immigration detention when they took place. But prosecutors argued that his lying to FBI agents before the attacks prevented officials from heading off the attacks.

Moussaoui took flight classes in Oklahoma and Minnesota in 2001. Minnesota officials reported him to federal officials because he did not have a pilot's license, or plan to acquire one. The FBI opened an investigation and he was taken into custody on an immigration violation in August 2001, but the investigation did not uncover the ongoing terror conspiracy.

Defense attorneys argued that executing Moussaoui would make him a martyr, that life in solitary confinement was a worse punishment than execution.

Moussaoui, 37, is a French national of Moroccan descent. He pleaded guilty to six counts involving the conspiracy last year. The federal jury determined last month that Moussaoui should be eligible for the death penalty.