(AP) -- For the first time in seven years, a Michigan jury is close to deciding whether a convicted killer gets the federal death penalty. Closing arguments in the penalty phase of Timothy O'Reilly's trial are set for Tuesday in federal court in Detroit. Lawyers were in court Monday to settle the ground rules and final jury instructions.
O'Reilly stands convicted of killing an armored-truck courier during a middle-of-the-night robbery at Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 2001. It's up to jurors to decide whether he gets the death penalty or life in prison.
The death penalty isn't available in Michigan courts but is an option for murders prosecuted in federal court. The FBI investigates bank robberies and built the case against O'Reilly.
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