This man will soon be forgotten as he festers alone in a prison cell. Quite right and good riddance. Well done the jury for realising that to send him for execution would have made him a martyr and given more oxygen of publicity to al-Qaeda's evil campaign of hatred, particularly in those parts of the world where it would have most impact. Maurice Buckingham, Woking

I feel very sorry for him. To face solitary confinement for the rest of your life is certainly worse than being executed. What has happened to Mr Moussaoui is not justice, neither for him nor the American people.

There is no evidence that he would have ever been the 20th hijacker (apart from his own ramblings, that many critics suspect over inflates his role in 9/11). At worst he was only a minor player in a vast operation, and guilty only of 'conspiracy'.

I find it bizarre that he received the same sentence as Richard Reid, the shoe bomber who was restrained in the act of detonating a bomb. Justice for the American people would be to find and prosecute the true masterminds of 9/11. Mr Moussaoui is not one of those, he is just a misguided scapegoat of the war on terror. Darla Danya, London

No he should not be executed. He believes to be executed would make him a martyr, to die of old age having failed in his 'duty' would not give him his place in heaven. Indigo Pampous, Southend

The American people sitting as Moussaoui's jury withstood the emotional torrent of reliving 9/11 and the tens of millions spent by the government prosecuting him to deliver the correct verdict. As an ex-pat American lawyer who has been deeply troubled by my fellow citizen's support of our current President, this verdict gives me hope that mindless revenge does not still carry the day. Jim Calle, Chisinau, Moldova

In my opinion he should not be executed because he does not deserve it considering the fact that he wanted to become a martyr. If he stays in prison till the end of his life he has the time to think about the crimes he intended to commit and maybe feel remorse. Name and address withheld

I agree with the verdict that he should not be executed as it is exactly what he wanted. By giving him a life sentence, we have denied him the chance to be a martyr. By being in prison he will have to reflect upon what he has done. He will now no longer have the chance to inflict more damage upon western society. Hopefully this will be a lesson to all other terrorists. Christopher Hamer, Kingston upon Thames

The verdict is fair. One problem is that his mother has applied for him to be transferred to France. If he is transferred to France it will defeat the whole point of him been in prison for life. France will set him free in 10 years. He will then be free to terrorise the world again. Let's hope he stays in USA for the rest of his life. Name and address withheld

This was absolutely the correct decision. It is also reassuring to know that, because this is an American verdict, life in jail really will mean just that. Eleanor Coker, Ashford

The right thing to do with this type of madman is to quietly lock him away. To execute him will only serve his mad purpose to be a martyr. He will be forgotten in prison except by a few mad men. David Walton, Crowland, Lincolnshire

It should be clear to any objective observer that America is neither fair nor just when dealing with suspected terrorists. The decision in this particular case on sentencing is meaningless. It may have been fairer in this case of a convicted terrorist to give him the death penalty. I am afraid the truth is, as stated by the convict in his parting statement, American humanity is selective and very rarely raises its head outside its borders where self interest trumps all morality. Daoud Khan, Peshawar, Pakistan

As a US taxpayer who is sick to death of spending my hard earned money on costly, lengthy trials, I think the verdict was fair to the citizens of the US. If they had given him the death penalty, that would mean an automatic appeal. This way, he goes away forever and we can get on with our lives. Robin Castellanos, San Antonio

The question is ridiculous. The American government had no case. Moussaoui took the stand against all legal advice and said things to incriminate himself, but even these things make him no more than a weird al Qaeda wannabe.

From a number of his statements, it is obvious he is somewhat unbalanced. Since when does a civilized nation execute people for being unbalanced and making illogical statements against themselves?

More to the point, since when does a civilized nation sentence such people to life in prison? But then, I think we can see from the history of bloody, pointless events since 9/11 that the US is rather less than civilized. John Chuckman, Toronto

The jurors made the right decision. Moussaoui is a dangerous fantasist and clearly contributed in some small way to what happened, but he did not personally kill anyone. Making him into a martyr would have been a very bad thing. Instead, despite the very understandable desire to make him pay, the jury showed wisdom and compassion. Perhaps, this man will now spend the rest of his life contemplating this compassion and understanding the wrong he has done, just maybe one day he might show remorse. One can but hope. Sarah Marquis, London

Moussaoui will rot in a small jail cell for the rest of his life. No parole, ever. I can't think of a more appropriate sentence. Kim Righetti, Upland, California

I think this shows the US legal system has a bit more sense to it than most people previously thought. By executing him they would have given him what he wanted. Letting him rot in jail is a much more suitable and appropriate penalty. Although in my opinion life imprisonment is a far harsher penalty than death anyway. I hope he lives a long time, and is unhappy every minute for the rest of his pointless life. Name and address withheld

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