English/Nat
Terry Nichols, the man convicted of conspiring with Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Oklahoma City Federal building, has still to learn his sentence.
Jurors were unable to reach a decision in the sentencing phase of the trial, so the decision is now up to the judge.
And under U-S federal law, a death sentence can be imposed only by a jury.
Jury fore woman Niki Deutchman called the jury's task "excruciating".
And she said that after a lot of stress and a lot of tears, she's glad that the judge will be deciding the fate of Terry Nichols.
But she added the other jurors may not feel the same way.
SOUNDBITE:
"I think some who felt strongly enough in the first two options that to them to allow the judge to make the decision was a cop-out. On the other hand, if we were at a place where we could not agree, it's the only possible outcome."
SUPER CAPTION: Niki Deutchman, Jury Fore person
Deutchman also says jurors didn't agree on Nichols' involvement in the bombing, that some thought he was "very involved," but that others thought he played only a minor role.
Jurors ended up convicting Nichols of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter, but found him not guilty of murder.
SOUNDBITE:
"The differences of opinion were very strong and very definite, and after considering long and hard, going back over a lot of evidence, everyone being able to present their views in many different ways, we still were not able to come up with a definite yes or no and the judge will be making the decision. I think that's reasonable, that was how the jury feels. To we push it any farther would indeed have been pressure, I think, and it's not what the jury systems is about."
SUPER CAPTION: Niki Deutchman, Jury Fore person
Deutchman said her heart goes out to the families of victims of the bombing, and she said she realizes many of them are upset with the jury panel.
But the fore woman added the jurors took their job very seriously, and she blames the government for dropping the ball.
SOUNDBITE:
"I think that the government didn't do a good job proving that Terry Nichols was greatly involved in all of this, and we took our responsibility very seriously for justice and proving beyond a reasonable doubt."
SUPER CAPTION: Niki Deutchman, Jury Fore person
Deutchman says she believes there are others who were involved in the bombing who were not caught, and she blames the government for that, as well.
She believes that prosecutors decided early on to focus on Nichols and McVeigh, while others continue to roam free.
But relatives of those killed in the bombing expressed disappointment and anger at the way the jury had handled the case.
SOUNDBITE:
"I think that that jury was very anti-government from the way that she (Deutchman) talked. That they were mad at the government before they ever went in there. And, didn't go in there with open mind and didn't listen to evidence and didn't listen to testimony that was put on. So I was very disappointed in that because all she did was talk about what the lawyers did."
SUPER CAPTION: Roy Sells, wife killed in bombing
There were tears and anger outside the courtroom, and many relatives accused the jury fore person of arrogance.
SOUNDBITE:
"My mother is dead. She was murdered. There was no justice served by this jury. She (Deutchman) was one of the jurors so I cannot say that I am angry with all of them. But I can say that I'm angry with her because I do not feel like she did a good job, or that she did her job at all."
SUPER CAPTION: Dawn DeArmon, mother killed in bombing
Nichols' fate now lies in the hands of the judge, who said he would not set a date for a sentencing hearing until he had read legal submissions from prosecution and defence lawyers, which must be made by the 9th of February.
