JACKSON, WY - The mother of a Wyoming Honor Farm nurse murdered by an inmate expressed relief that the second trial in the case had ended, although with a life sentence and not the death penalty for Floyd DeWayne Grady.

Jurors deliberated about six hours before handing down the sentence around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

After the decision was read, Grady shook hands with his attorney and waved to his two older brothers and father sitting in the courtroom. "Take care of yourself, man," said Grady's older brother, Michael, as officers led Grady out of the courtroom.

Grady's relatives left the courthouse quickly and had no comment for reporters. Grady, 30, was found guilty Saturday of first-degree murder and attempted sexual assault in the death of Tammy Sue Watts on April 15, 2004.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty. Linda Hart, Watts' mother, nonetheless appeared relieved after Tuesday's decision. "I'm just glad it's over," she said. "Maybe we can pick up the pieces."

Hart's sister, Suzi Jacobs, said of Watts, "We'll miss her forever."

Watts, 39, was strangled and struck on the head on April 15, 2004, and her body was found in a dental examination room within a nurse's office at the Honor Farm, a minimum security prison. Grady was serving time at the Honor Farm for a 1995 rape conviction.

It was Grady's second trial for the murder. In November, a jury could not unanimously agree on a verdict, resulting in a mistrial. District Judge Norman Young moved the trial to Teton County. Young chose not to impose a sentence immediately after the jury's recommendation Tuesday.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Kathy Kavanagh told jurors that Grady was not in the courtroom because of how he was raised, but because he "willfully, consciously chose to rape repeatedly and kill."