In the 18-page jury verdict form ten jurors cited the likelihood that execution would make Al-'Owhali a martyr for al Qaeda's cause as a factor in considering life in prison. Ten jurors also found that Al-'Owhali committed the crime based on his sincere belief that his conduct was mandated by his religion and believed bin Laden's assertions that embassies were legitimate military targets. Eight noted that other members of the al Qaeda conspiracy arrested or charged in the bombings will not be punished by death.

From the closing argument:

Now, all of you know the power of

4 martyrdom. It's not just an Islamic thing.

5 All of us know the name of Joan of Arc because

6 she was burned at the stake. But it's not just

7 big people who are immortalized by martyrdom.

8 Small people, too. You all know the name

9 Nathan Hale: I regret that I have but one life

10 to give for my country. He was just a soldier

11 in the revolutionary war, just a Vermont

12 soldier. No one would know who he was, had he

13 be held in a prisoner of war camp, but,

14 instead, once he was executed, he became a

15 rallying cry, a martyr, and we remember him to

16 this day.

17 Send him to jail and he'll quickly be

18 forgotten by all except those who love him.

19 Kill him, and you've guaranteed him

20 immortality.

21 In the end if you kill him, you'll

22 allow him to be used twice.

and later,

In the end, if you give him life,

19 Khalfan will disappear. No one except those he

20 loves will remember him. Someone has to say

21 enough. Someone has to say I will not hurt

22 another family. Someone has to say I will not

23 become those I detest by doing what they do and

24 killing in the name of justice.

25 Let that be you.