Embassy Jury Instructed on Deadlock

If the jury in the embassy bombing case does not unanimously agree on a death penalty, the defendant will automatically get life in prison, the judge reminded jurors Tuesday.

The comment from U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand came as the anonymous jury entered its fifth day of deliberations in the penalty phase of the case against Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali. On Monday, the jurors had sent Sand a note asking what to do if they deadlock over the sentence.

If the jury remains deadlocked, Sand has instructed jurors to write a note at the bottom of the verdict form saying they don't agree on the death penalty and they understand that as a result, Al-'Owhali will be sentenced to life without the possibility of release.

Al-'Owhali is among four men convicted of conspiring to bomb two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998. One other defendant, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, also could face the death penalty. His penalty hearing is scheduled to follow Al-'Owhali's.