The trial of 9/11 conspiracist Zacarias Moussaoui has come to a dramatic end, with the jury deciding that he will receive life in prison instead of the death sentence.

Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted for involvement in the September 11 terrorist attacks, will be sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a jury on Wednesday decided that he should not receive the death penalty.

The decision to sentence Mr Moussaoui to life in prison without parole was a big blow to the Bush administration, which had argued his involvement in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon warranted the death penalty.

???????America, you lost???????I won,??????? Mr Moussaoui shouted, before clapping, while being led out of the Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom.

Mr Moussaoui, a 37 year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, last year pleaded guilty to conspiring with al-Qaeda to commit the attacks.

???????Zacarias Moussaoui pled guilty in federal court to six counts of terrorism, including conspiracy to murder innocent Americans,??????? Mr Bush said in a statement on Wednesday. ???????He openly rejoiced at their deaths ??????? Our thoughts today are with the families who lost loved ones on September 11th 2001.???????

The court did not disclose how many of the jurors opposed the death penalty, which required unanimous consent. But it revealed that three jurors agreed with the defence that Mr Moussaoui played only a ???????minor??????? role in the 9/11 attacks. Three jurors also concluded that he had limited knowledge of the plans for the attacks.

Both the Bush administration and Moussaoui argued in favor of execution. In fact, Moussaoui testified on the stand against himself hoping that he would receive the death penalty. It seems strange to me that the Bush administration would try to give him what he wants. There is a profound philosophical argument against it that relates to the very reason Moussaoui and the hijackers were willing to die for their cause.

They believed, as does he, that dying in the hijacking or being put to death for his deeds in the eternal jihad against America would afford him a place in heaven as well as a place in the hearts of all Muslims as a martyr. It would have been the highest honor for him to be sentenced to die. That’s why I’m happy to see him live. Now he can rot in a cell for the rest of his life, isolated from the rest of the world, with no martyrdom. The only thing he’ll have to worry about from now on is dropping the soap…