It was the second time in two weeks a jury rejected claims that the 17-year-old boy was insane. He had previously been found guilty of killing his mother just before the attack at Pearl High School and sentenced to life in prison.

The October 1 attack was the first of the several high-profile shootings at schools around the United States. The jury, which deliberated about five hours yesterday, also found Woodham guilty of wounding seven other students during the shooting. He received two life sentences plus 20 years on each aggravated assault charge, all to run consecutively. After the sentencing, Woodham again apologised to the victims and their families. ``I am sorry for the people I killed and the people I hurt,'' Woodham told the courtroom.

``The reason you don't see any more tears is I have been forgiven by God. If they could havegiven the death penalty in this case, I deserve it.''