Nichols jury begins deliberating penalty

McALESTER, Okla. - The state jury that convicted Terry L. Nichols of murder in the Oklahoma City bombing will begin deliberating today whether he should die for his crimes.

Prosecutors, in closing arguments yesterday, labeled Nichols a heartless killer; his attorneys called him a bit player, unaware of the scope and specifics of the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

After a two-month trial, Nichols, 49, was found guilty on all counts brought by the state - arson, conspiracy to commit arson and 161 counts of first-degree murder. He is serving a life prison term without possibility of parole for his 1997 federal conviction in the deaths of eight law enforcement officers, killed when a bomb ripped the face off the Murrah building.