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Sue Bartley: "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about our losses and the losses of others."

From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN Producer

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Federal prosecutors Wednesday called the death penalty a just punishment for two men in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings that killed hundreds and wounded thousands.

"The only punishment that does justice for the victims, the only punishment that fits the crime, is death," prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told jurors Wednesday.

Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed were convicted Tuesday in the attacks, and face the death penalty. They also could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

CASE FILE Shattered Diplomacy: The U.S. Embassy Bombings Trial An in-depth special report on the trial of four men charged with the embassy bombings Trial reports | Timeline | Key Figures  VIDEO CNN's Catherine Bond reports on how victims of the 1998 embassy bombing in Nairobi are coping with aftermath (May 30) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Bob Franken reports on the guilty verdicts in the embassy bombings trial (May 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN Legal Analyst Roger Cossack explains how the death penalty in this case could cause the U.S. trouble down the road (May 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more on the men on trial for the two embassy bombings Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    MESSAGE BOARD Embassy bombing verdict    DOCUMENTS • Jury verdict form for the U.S. embassy bombings trial (FindLaw) (PDF) Part 1 | Part 2 Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.  CNN ACCESS Bomb victim's father: 'We got 'em, Kenny Ray'    ALSO Relatives of victims, attorney for defendant react to verdict • Other terrorism cases keep legal spotlight on bin Laden   GALLERY Images from the U.S. embassy bombing in Tanzania

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"You need to understand the pain, the horror, the agony that the bombing put so many families through," Fitzgerald said.

Prosecutors tried to demonstrate that suffering by putting on a parade of survivors and family members of the 224 killed in nearly simultaneous attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Survivors recount losses

The sentencing phase of their trial is expected to take about a month, with separate proceedings for each man. It is focusing on survivors and relatives of victims who are expected to testify through Thursday, telling the jury how the attacks damaged their lives physically and emotionally.

Ellen Bowmer, a U.S. Commerce Department official, was trapped inside the embassy and couldn't see after the explosion occurred.

"I started saying, 'Lord, give me one eye, don't take both,'" she said. The blast left her totally blind.

"I was innocent. I was just doing my job," she told the jury.

Sue Bartley's husband, Julian, served as consul general at the embassy in Kenya. Her son, Jay, a college student, spent the summer of 1998 as an intern there. Both died in the bombing.

"That was half my family," she said.

Teresia Karanja, an employee in the bank building next door to the Nairobi embassy, described how the blast broke her back. She appeared in a wheelchair. And Mary Khanenzi told the court it took her four days to find her husband Thomas, a restaurant manager, on a Nairobi mortuary floor.

"He was very broken, but we identified him by the T-shirt he wore," she said.

After 15 prosecution witnesses, Fred Cohn, a lawyer for al-'Owhali, asked U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Sand to stop the victim testimony.

"It is no longer factual. It is an emotional roller coaster," Cohn said. Sand turned him down.

U.S. policy a motive, defense says

Earlier, in his opening statements, another of Al-'Owhali's lawyers, David Baugh, said U.S. international policy might help explain -- if not justify -- the men's actions.

"I want you to understand the circumstances why this crime happened," Baugh said.

Baugh mentioned U.S. policy overseas as a motive -- in particular, the post-Gulf War sanctions and air strikes against Iraq, which Baugh said have killed more than a million Iraqis since 1991. He also mentioned the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega, which, he claimed, killed as many as 4,000 innocent Panamanians.

"We create grave risk to others also, and that has to stop," he said.

Al-'Owhali was convicted of carrying out the bombing of the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Mohamed, 27, a Tanzanian, was convicted of carrying out the bombing Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Both were convicted of all counts against them, including conspiracy and murder.

Fitzgerald said the government's argument for executing al-'Owhali will focus on the possibility of future terrorist acts by him, the impact of the bombings on victims and "an utter and total lack of remorse" demonstrated by him.

Prosecutors argued al-'Owhali and Mohamed were involved in the preparations of the truck bombs and rode in their passenger seats as the vehicles headed toward their targets. Neither defendant called any witnesses in the first phase of the trial, but both are expected to call several on their behalf now.

Also convicted Tuesday were Mohamed Sadeek Odeh and Wadih el Hage. Federal prosecutors decided last year they would not seek the death penalty against Odeh, saying he had a less direct role in the attacks.

El Hage, who was convicted of terrorist conspiracy and perjury charges, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sand has not set a sentencing date for them.