Nichols already serving a federal life sentence for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. However now, Terry Nichols will face a state trial in Oklahoma, one that could result in the death penalty.

Jury selection began Monday in McAlester, about 130 miles from Oklahoma City, where 168 people were killed in the truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995.

The defense plans to emphasize that Nichols was at home at the time of the blast. One legal observer says that could make it harder for prosecutors to get Nichols sentenced to death.

Nichols was convicted of federal involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy charges in the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officers in the bombing.

Bomber Timothy McVeigh was convicted on federal murder charges and executed in 2001.