Sniper Killer Muhammad Sentenced to Death

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer

MANASSAS, Va. - A judge rejected John Allen Muhammad's insistence of innocence and sentenced him to death Tuesday, saying his actions in the Washington-area sniper shootings that left 10 people dead were "so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension."

Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. also turned aside a plea from Muhammad's lawyers to spare their client's life. He ordered that Muhammad be executed on Oct. 14, but that date likely will be postponed to allow appeals.

Muhammad, 43, was convicted of capital murder on Nov. 17 and a jury recommended he be sentenced to death for the Oct. 9, 2002, murder of Dean Harold Meyers at a gas station near Manassas. His teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, is to be sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Muhammad denied any involvement in the killings Tuesday, telling the judge, "Don't make a fool of the Constitution of the United States of America."

"Just like I said at the beginning, I had nothing to do with this, and I'll say again, I had nothing to do with this," Muhammad said.

But Millette said the jury's sentence was supported by law and that "these offenses are so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension."

During Muhammad's trial, prosecutor's described him as "captain of a killing team" and portrayed him as a Malvo's father figure, a stern and controlling man who trained the teenager to do his bidding.

Larry Meyers, older brother of the victim, testified Tuesday that "Dean meant so much to each and every one of us. I'd prefer to remember the good times."

Sonia Wills, mother of sniper victim Conrad Johnson, said afterward, "Justice has been served today. I can go to my son's grave and wish him a happy birthday this Sunday." She said he would have been 37.

Defense lawyer Peter Greenspun told the judge Muhammad is not inherently evil.

"I've represented a lot of bad guys," Greenspun said. "I've represented guys that you look them in the eye and see evil. I've spent a lot of time with John Allen Muhammad and that's not him."

Prosecutor Paul Ebert disagreed. "I see nothing but pure evil," he said after the hearing.

Defense lawyers had filed a motion Monday arguing that life in prison was the more appropriate sentence to eliminate the disparity between Muhammad's punishment and that of Malvo, 18.

Malvo, who was tried separately in Chesapeake, was given life in prison by the jury in the Oct. 14, 2002, slaying of FBI (news - web sites) analyst Linda Franklin, 47, outside a Falls Church, Va., Home Depot store.

Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush has no leeway Wednesday to alter Malvo's sentence. In Virginia, judges can accept a jury's sentence recommendation or reduce it, but cannot increase it.

Earlier Tuesday, Millette had rejected a defense request for a new trial for Muhammad. Defense attorneys based their motion on letters that Malvo wrote to another inmate in the Fairfax County jail.

Defense lawyers said they were unaware of the letters before trial and said they show Malvo acted and thought independently and was not under the sway of Muhammad.

Prosecutors said the letters added nothing to the case, and Millette agreed.

Muhammad's lawyers have raised several issues that will likely be primary points of appeal. First, they argue that under Virginia law only the triggerman in a shooting death can be eligible for the death penalty. The six-week trial never conclusively determined who was the triggerman in the killings, and much of the evidence suggests Malvo was the shooter.

But Millette sided with prosecutors who argued that the triggerman issue is irrelevant, and that Virginia law allows a death penalty in cases in which a defendant can be shown to be "the instigator and moving spirit" of a killing.

The defense team also argues that a second capital conviction based on a new antiterrorism law is both unconstitutional and improperly applied to Muhammad. The Virginia legislature passed the law after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, envisioning al-Qaida-style terrorism.

The law defines terrorism as a crime committed with "the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy, conduct or activities of the government ... through intimidation or coercion."

Prosecutors said the circumstances of the October 2002 sniper spree fit that definition of terrorism like a glove. Muhammad and Malvo demanded a $10 million payment from the government to stop the shootings and left notes at shooting scenes promising "more body bags" if their demands weren't met.

The capital-area killings began on Oct. 2, 2002, when the pair shot a 55-year-old man to death outside a Wheaton, Md., supermarket. The following day, five people were killed in Maryland and Washington — four within a span of about two hours. On Oct. 4, the two expanded their shooting spree to Virginia, seriously wounding a woman.

From then until the two were captured Oct. 24, millions of residents lived in fear. Schools as far south as Richmond closed down, while others canceled all outdoor activities.

Muhammad and Malvox were captured at a highway rest stop near Myersville, Md., in a car that had been altered to allow someone to fire a high-powered rifle from inside the trunk.

They were subsequently linked to three killings in September 2002, in Atlanta; Montgomery, Ala.; and Baton Rouge, La. Alabama officials have said they hope to try Malvo and Muhammad for the killing there.

thanks for posting this...i heard this morning on my way to work the judge would be ruling but haven't heard any news.

Thanks for sharing!