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| Jury Chooses Death for Sniper Mastermind |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/25/2003 |
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A jury decided Monday that John Allen Muhammad should be executed for taking it upon himself to choose who should live and who should die during the sniper attacks that gripped the Washington area for three terrifying weeks last fall. The jury deliberated more than five hours over two days before deciding the fate of Muhammad, a 42-year-old Gulf War veteran who masterminded the attacks. The jury's recommendation is not final. Judge Leroy F. Millette Jr. can reduce the punishment to life in prison without parole when Muhammad is formally sentenced on Feb. 12, but Virginia judges rarely take such action. The jury concluded that prosecutors proved both aggravating factors necessary to impose the death penalty: that Muhammad would pose a danger and that his crimes were wantonly vile. Muhammad was sentenced to death on both counts he was convicted of last Monday: committing multiple murders within three years and committing murder as part of a plot to terrorize the public. Prosecutors presented evidence of 16 shootings, including 10 deaths, in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Muhammad could be prosecuted in those jurisdictions as well. When he and 18-year-old Malvo were arrested on Oct. 24, 2002, various jurisdictions scrambled to prosecute them. Ultimately, Attorney General John Ashcroft sent the two to Virginia, citing the state's ability to impose "the ultimate sanction." Only Texas has executed more people than Virginia since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Virginia is also one of 21 states that allow the execution of killers who committed their crimes at 16 or 17. Malvo was 17 at the time of the shootings. Defense attorney Peter Greenspun suggested that the Justice Department had essentially shopped around for a jurisdiction willing to impose death. Greenspun indicated he sees several major issues for appeal, including whether Virginia's post-Sept. 11 terrorism law applied in the sniper case. Muhammad became the first person convicted under the law. Greenspun also argued that Virginia law does not allow the death penalty for Muhammad because there was no evidence he was the triggerman. Muhammad was found guilty of murder in the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers, a 53-year-old Vietnam veteran who was cut down by a bullet that hit him in the head on Oct. 9, 2002, as he filled his tank at a Manassas-area gas station. |
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