ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Atlanta courthouse shooter Brian Nichols was spared a death sentence Friday after the jury deliberating his fate announced that it could not agree on a sentence . Brian Nichols was spared a death sentence after the jury in his trial announced it was deadlocked . Jurors told Superior Court Judge James Bodiford on Friday night that they were deadlocked , with nine in favor of death and three in favor of life without parole . Under Georgia law , the jurors must reach a unanimous decision in order to impose a death sentence . In the absence of a unanimous jury verdict , the decision falls in the hands of Bodiford , who will decide Saturday between a life sentence with or without the possibility of parole . Nichols , 37 , was convicted last month of 54 counts for a deadly shooting rampage that began in the same courthouse where he is standing trial . Nichols shot three people at the downtown courthouse and a federal agent in Atlanta 's Buckhead district before being captured in neighboring Gwinnett County . Defense lawyers said Nichols , who confessed to the killings , suffers from a mental disorder . The jurors unanimously found the necessary aggravating circumstances in the four murders , but they were split over the death penalty . If at least seven of the 12 jurors vote for death or for life in prison without parole , the judge can impose a life sentence , with or without possibility of parole . Bodiford dismissed the jury Friday night after polling each panelist and told the court to return at 8:40 a.m . ET Saturday for his sentence . After nine weeks of testimony , the jury found Nichols guilty of 54 counts , which included the four murders plus numerous aggravated assaults , carjackings and kidnappings . The shootings began in the Fulton County Courthouse , where Nichols was set to stand trial for rape . He overpowered a sheriff 's deputy and took her gun before proceeding to the courtroom of Judge Rowland Barnes , killing him and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau . Sgt . Hoyt Teasley chased Nichols to outside the courthouse , where Nichols fatally shot him . Nichols killed U.S. Customs Agent David Wilhelm before he was captured about 26 hours later in a standoff with police in the apartment of a woman he took hostage in Gwinnett County . The case drew nationwide attention , in part because of the cost of Nichols ' representation : about $ 2 million at last accounting . Nichols had attempted to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence , but the Fulton County District Attorney 's Office would not take the death penalty off the table .
Jury split 9 - 3 in favor of death , but verdict must be unanimous . Judge will sentence him to life with or without parole Saturday . Brian Johnson received death penalty for killing four people in 2005 shooting rampage .