Lawyer Asks Mercy For OKC Bomber

A defense attorney for Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols stood behind him in court Wednesday, put his hands on Nichols' shoulders and asked jurors to save his life.

"This case is about one person, this man, Terry Lynn Nichols, and whether you will take his life," attorney Creekmore Wallace said. "It's about whether you will kill Terry Lynn Nichols, the man."

A jury will consider whether Nichols, who was convicted on May 26 of 161 counts of first-degree murder in the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing, should be given a life term or a death sentence.

In their closing argument, prosecutors branded Nichols a "terrorist." But defense attorneys said Nichols has become a religious man who has the capacity for good.

"His conversion is real," Wallace said. "His conversion didn't come overnight."

"I'm placing his future in your hands. They want to remove this unique individual from society. Vote for love. Don't kill my client."

"Prosecutors shortened their penalty phase presentation because they were worried that they would lose another juror, that another juror would be kicked off the panel, and if that were to happen, there could be no death penalty for Terry Nichols," said CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen

He doesn't believe deliberations will last very long, and there could be a verdict by the end of the week.

"Clearly, these jurors believer that Terry Nichols was as culpable as Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing, and if that holds true, and given the enormity of the crime, with 168 people being murdered, I would be fairly surprised if this jury doesn't come back and recommend a death sentence," Cohen said.

Closing arguments began Tuesday after the last of 22 defense witnesses testified during the penalty phase of Nichols' trial. After a prosecution rebuttal argument, jurors will begin deciding Nichols' sentence, probably Wednesday afternoon. They will be sequestered during deliberations.

Another defense attorney, Barbara Bergman, argued Tuesday that the Oklahoma City bombing was the obsession of Timothy McVeigh and that there was no evidence Nichols intended to hurt anyone.

McVeigh was executed in 2001.

Bergman said Nichols has made mistakes in his life, but his role in the bombing merits a life sentence instead of death.

"He is a person with a heart and a soul, and a person whose life is worth saving," she said.

Nichols, 49, was acquitted of federal murder charges in 1997 but convicted of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter charges in the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officers in the bombing. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The state charges are for the other 160 bombing victims and one fetus whose mother died in the blast.

Prosecutor Suzanne Lister characterized the bombing as "one of the darkest, ugliest days in American history."

"Think about the number of dreams, the number of plans and the number of loved ones that Terry Nichols destroyed on April 19, 1995," Lister said.

Lister said Nichols and McVeigh, worked side-by-side to gather components and build the 4,000-pound fertilizer bomb that destroyed the federal building.

Prosecutors alleged that Nichols and McVeigh shared anti-government beliefs and planned the bombing to avenge the deaths of about 80 people at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, exactly two years before the bombing.

"Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh conspired and committed the largest act of domestic terrorism that has ever been committed on American soil," Lister said. "Terry Nichols is a terrorist. One hundred-sixty-one men, women and children paid for Terry Nichols' political statement."