Judge reprimands Moussaoui juror

The judge will be bound to hand down the sentence the jury chooses

The judge in the trial of al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui has reprimanded a juror for looking up a word in an online dictionary.

A unnamed juror had checked the definition of "aggravating" - a key term that appears 46 times in the 42 pages of instructions to the jury.

Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled the juror's action would not affect deliberations.

The jury must decide if the only man charged in the US over 9/11 will face execution or life in prison.

They began deliberating on Monday after closing statements from the prosecution and jury.

They have now taken a break for the weekend and will resume on 1 May.

On Tuesday, they had requested a dictionary.

Justice is seeking evidence and showing what he has done, not what he has said Aicha el-Wafi, Moussaoui's mother Jury verdict form Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the reader here

The judge denied the request, saying it was tantamount to introducing additional evidence.

On Friday, she orally instructed them that "aggravating" meant to make something worse.

The jury has been asked to decide if the government prosecution has proven any of three statutory aggravating factors against Moussaoui.

If they decide it has not done so, they must sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

However, if they decide it has, they consider a list of seven possible aggravating factors and 23 possible mitigating ones to determine if he should live or die.

They go through the entire procedure for each of the three capital charges against him.

The judge will be bound to hand down the sentence the jury chooses.

'No regret'

As Moussaoui left the Virginia courtroom on Monday, he turned to the public gallery, raised his hands in the air and clapped loudly.

Moussaoui's mother arrived in the US on Wednesday from her home in France for the verdict.

CHARGES AGAINST MOUSSAOUI Conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism Conspiracy to destroy aircraft Conspiracy to use weapons of mass destructions How jury must decide

Aicha el-Wafi said her son was being condemned merely for fiery rhetoric.

"For me, there is no justice... justice is seeking evidence and showing what he has done, not what he has said."

Defence lawyers, with whom Moussaoui refused to co-operate, have tried to avoid the death penalty by portraying the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent as mentally ill.

Prosecutors say Moussaoui withheld information that could have helped prevent the 2001 attacks, in which about 3,000 people died.

The prosecution said there was "no place on this good Earth" for him.

Although Moussaoui was in jail at the time of the attacks, on immigration charges, prosecutors say he told lies to allow the plot to continue.

Prosecution evidence included a man talking on his mobile phone as the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed and the cockpit tape of the plane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field.

In his summing up, defence lawyer Gerald Zerkin said Moussaoui's contempt for the victims and the trial "is proof that he wants you to sentence him to death".

Mr Zerkin said the jury could instead "confine him to a miserable existence until he dies and give him not the death of a jihadist... but the long slow death of a common criminal".

Moussaoui said he had "no regret, no remorse" and wished it could be 11 September every day.

Moussaoui was arrested in August 2001 at a flight simulator school in Minnesota.