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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Jurors in the death-penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui reached a verdict Monday on whether the confessed al-Qaida terror conspirator is eligible for execution.
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The verdict on Moussaoui, the only person to face charges in the U.S. in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, was being announced at 4 p.m. Monday, according to the court's Web site.

This first phase of the trial only determines Moussaoui's eligibility for the death penalty.

If jurors find he is eligible, it moves into a second phase to determine whether he deserves the death penalty. Victims of sept. 11, 2001 and their families will testify in this second phase.

If they find he is ineligible, he will automatically be sentenced to life in prison.

The jury began weighing Moussaoui's fate last Wednesday. During its deliberations, the jury has asked only one question, seeking a definition of "weapon of mass destruction." One of the three convictions for which Moussaoui could be executed is conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

The jurors were told that a plane used as a missile — the tactic employed on Sept. 11, 2001 — qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction.

So far, the jury has asked only one question, seeking a definition of "weapon of mass destruction." One of the three convictions for which Moussaoui could be executed is conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

The jurors were told that a plane used as a missile — the tactic employed on Sept. 11, 2001 — qualifies as a weapon of mass destruction.

Moussaoui is the only person in this country charged in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. He pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida to hijack aircraft and other crimes. The sentencing trial will determine his punishment — execution or life in prison.

The jury must find that Moussaoui was responsible for at least one death on 9/11 for him to be eligible for execution. If the jury finds him eligible for the death penalty, a second phase of the trial would be needed to determine the sentence.

Moussaoui was in jail at the time of the attacks, but prosecutors argue federal agents would have been able to thwart or at least minimize the attacks if he had revealed his al-Qaida membership and his terror plans when he was arrested and interrogated by federal agents.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Reuters) - A jury has reached a verdict in the first phase of the sentencing trial of September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and will announce later on Monday whether he will be eligible for the death penalty.

"The jury in U.S. v. Moussaoui has sent a note to the judge indicating they have reached a verdict," the U.S. federal court said in a statement.

The verdict, reached after about 17 hours of deliberation, was to be read at 4 p.m. EDT. Moussaoui pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy in connection with the hijacked airliner attacks.

If the 12-member federal jury decides that Moussaoui lied about the plot and caused the death of at least one person on September 11, he will be eligible for the death penalty. Another phase of the trial would be held to determine whether he would be executed. If he does not face death, a life sentence is automatic.

Federal prosecutors have charged Moussaoui lied to the
FBI after being arrested in August 2001, and prevented the September 11 plot from being discovered, thus leading to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

But defense lawyers said the U.S. government had failed to prove Moussaoui caused a death.

It is the only case brought in the United States in connection with the deadly airliner hijackings.

In dramatic testimony during the trial, Moussaoui said he was meant to fly an airplane into the White House on September 11.

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, was in jail on September 11. He was arrested on August 16, 2001, in Minnesota on immigration charges after raising suspicions at a flight school.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal jury found al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui eligible Monday to be executed, deciding that his lies to
FBI agents led directly to at least one death in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The only person to face charges in this country in the nation's worst terrorist assault, Moussaoui now faces a second phase of his sentencing trial.

The nine men and three women of the jury will hear testimony on whether the 37-year-old Frenchman, who was in jail at the time of the attack, deserves to be executed for his role.

The testimony will include families of 9/11 victims who will describe the human impact of the al-Qaida mission that flew four jetliners into the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

Court-appointed defense lawyers, whom Moussaoui has tried to reject, will summon experts to suggest he is schizophrenic after an impoverished childhood during which he faced racism in France over his Moroccan ancestry.

Yes:17 (73.9%)
No:6 (26.1%)