Moussaoui sentenced to life for 9/11 conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 4 (Reuters) Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison today, one today after a jury spared his life and rejected US government arguments that the September 11 conspirator should be executed.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema sentenced Moussaoui, 37, to life in prison with no possibility of release. Moussaoui, an admitted al Qaeda member, will almost certainly be sent to the maximum security federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, was in jail on September 11 after raising suspicions at a flight school.

The jury did not believe that Moussaoui's actions resulted in the deaths of about 3,000 people on September 11 a central part of the government's demand for the death penalty.

REUTERS SY PC2023