A jury in the US state of Virginia has recommended that three Somali pirates be sentenced to life in prison for killing four Americans on a yacht in 2011 off the coast of east-Africa.
It was the first piracy case in which prosecutors had sought the death penalty.
Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar were convicted in July on all 26 charges against them.
They were among 19 men who hijacked the S/V Quest, hoping to ransom its crew. But the Americans were killed when rescue talks with the US Navy broke down.
Eleven other men have pleaded guilty to piracy in the case and have been sentenced to life in prison.
