Post by sclcookie on Jun 2, 2006 1:23:29 GMT -5
Sniper gets 6 consecutive life sentences----John Allen Muhammad is on
death row in Virginia
Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced Thursday to 6
consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole.
Prosecutors described the sentence, the maximum possible, as insurance in
case Muhammad's Virginia death sentence is ever overturned.
Muhammad was convicted of 6 of the 2002 sniper murders Tuesday at a trial
in which he acted as his own attorney and the prosecution's star witness
was his young protege and partner in crime.
Muhammad, 45, is already under a death sentence in Virginia.
The jury took slightly more than 4 hours to convict Muhammad after a
4-week trial.
The trial marked the 1st time Lee Boyd Malvo testified against the man
prosecutors say was his mentor and manipulator.
During 2 days of testimony last week, Malvo, 21, gave the 1st inside
account of the shootings and described Muhammad's elaborate plans for a
reign of terror.
According to Malvo, Muhammad planned 2 phases of attacks -- 6 shootings a
day for a month, followed by a wave of bombings of schools, school buses
and children's hospitals.
Spree was for 'sheer terror'
Malvo said that when he asked Muhammad why, the older man replied: "For
the sheer terror of it -- the worst thing you can do to people is aim at
their children."
Muhammad hoped to extort $10 million from authorities and use the money to
set up a school in Canada to teach homeless children how to use guns and
explosives and use violence to shut down other cities, Malvo said.
Maryland prosecutors said they needed to put Muhammad on trial as
insurance in case his conviction in Virginia was overturned. Some of the
victims' families also wanted a second trial, seeking an explanation for
the random slayings that targeted people as they went shopping, gassed up
their cars and mowed lawns near the nation's capital.
10 people in all were killed, and three were wounded, in Virginia,
Maryland and Washington, D.C., in the string of shootings that gripped the
metropolitan area with fear.
After the verdict, Vijay Walekar, brother of sniper victim Premkumar
Walekar, said, "I wish they had the death penalty." Walekar said of
Muhammad: "He stands up and denies everything up there. It was hard for us
to take it."
Malvo will plead guilty
Malvo's testimony came after he agreed to plead guilty in the Maryland
killings. He gave detailed descriptions of each shooting, even pointing
out parking spaces where the sniper team's car was parked.
Aside from Malvo's testimony, Muhammad's second trial followed much of the
same blueprint as his first, with prosecutors telling jurors that Muhammad
and Malvo roamed the area in a beat-up Chevrolet Caprice, firing
.223-caliber bullets through a hole bored in its trunk.
The jury heard a torrent of evidence that linked Muhammad to the shootings
-- fingerprints, DNA evidence, and ballistics tests that connected the
bullets used in the shootings to the Bushmaster rifle found in the car
when Muhammad and Malvo were arrested.
Acting as his own lawyer, Muhammad claimed he and Malvo were simply
roaming the Washington region looking for his children who had been taken
away from him in a custody battle with his ex-wife. He implied that
authorities framed him, planting items such as DNA and gun evidence to
convict him.
In an often testy 4-hour cross-examination, Muhammad continued to refer to
Malvo as his "son" even though the younger man tried to show during his
testimony that he was no longer under Muhammad's sway. Malvo says he shot
3 victims
Malvo told jurors that he shot 3 of the 13 sniper victims, while Muhammad
pulled the trigger on the rest. He said Muhammad was the shooter in all
but 1 of the 6 Maryland murders.
In March, Muhammad persuaded Circuit Judge James Ryan to let him defend
himself, despite statements from two psychiatrists who said he may be
mentally ill.
During closing arguments, Muhammad grew wild-eyed and sometimes shouted as
he quoted the Bible, Mark Twain and Groucho Marx.
He struggled to mount a defense, hampered by his failure to meet deadlines
on calling witnesses. He originally wanted to call hundreds of people to
the stand, but the judge limited him to just a few dozen because he failed
to follow proper courtroom procedure.
Many witnesses did not want to take part in his defense, refusing to show
up at court even though they were issued subpoenas by lawyers helping
Muhammad with his case.
In Maryland, Muhammad was charged with 1st-degree murder for the deaths in
Montgomery County of James Martin, Premkumar Walekar, James "Sonny"
Buchanan, Sarah Ramos, Lori Lewis Rivera and Conrad Johnson.
Maryland prosecutors originally sought a death sentence, but dropped those
plans earlier this year. Muhammad's Virginia defense attorneys and some
victims questioned whether it was necessary to reopen old psychological
wounds from more than 3 years ago.
Muhammad could still face prosecution for earlier shootings in Alabama and
Louisiana. He and Malvo are linked to other shootings in Maryland,
Arizona, Georgia and Washington state.
(source: The Associated Press)
death row in Virginia
Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced Thursday to 6
consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole.
Prosecutors described the sentence, the maximum possible, as insurance in
case Muhammad's Virginia death sentence is ever overturned.
Muhammad was convicted of 6 of the 2002 sniper murders Tuesday at a trial
in which he acted as his own attorney and the prosecution's star witness
was his young protege and partner in crime.
Muhammad, 45, is already under a death sentence in Virginia.
The jury took slightly more than 4 hours to convict Muhammad after a
4-week trial.
The trial marked the 1st time Lee Boyd Malvo testified against the man
prosecutors say was his mentor and manipulator.
During 2 days of testimony last week, Malvo, 21, gave the 1st inside
account of the shootings and described Muhammad's elaborate plans for a
reign of terror.
According to Malvo, Muhammad planned 2 phases of attacks -- 6 shootings a
day for a month, followed by a wave of bombings of schools, school buses
and children's hospitals.
Spree was for 'sheer terror'
Malvo said that when he asked Muhammad why, the older man replied: "For
the sheer terror of it -- the worst thing you can do to people is aim at
their children."
Muhammad hoped to extort $10 million from authorities and use the money to
set up a school in Canada to teach homeless children how to use guns and
explosives and use violence to shut down other cities, Malvo said.
Maryland prosecutors said they needed to put Muhammad on trial as
insurance in case his conviction in Virginia was overturned. Some of the
victims' families also wanted a second trial, seeking an explanation for
the random slayings that targeted people as they went shopping, gassed up
their cars and mowed lawns near the nation's capital.
10 people in all were killed, and three were wounded, in Virginia,
Maryland and Washington, D.C., in the string of shootings that gripped the
metropolitan area with fear.
After the verdict, Vijay Walekar, brother of sniper victim Premkumar
Walekar, said, "I wish they had the death penalty." Walekar said of
Muhammad: "He stands up and denies everything up there. It was hard for us
to take it."
Malvo will plead guilty
Malvo's testimony came after he agreed to plead guilty in the Maryland
killings. He gave detailed descriptions of each shooting, even pointing
out parking spaces where the sniper team's car was parked.
Aside from Malvo's testimony, Muhammad's second trial followed much of the
same blueprint as his first, with prosecutors telling jurors that Muhammad
and Malvo roamed the area in a beat-up Chevrolet Caprice, firing
.223-caliber bullets through a hole bored in its trunk.
The jury heard a torrent of evidence that linked Muhammad to the shootings
-- fingerprints, DNA evidence, and ballistics tests that connected the
bullets used in the shootings to the Bushmaster rifle found in the car
when Muhammad and Malvo were arrested.
Acting as his own lawyer, Muhammad claimed he and Malvo were simply
roaming the Washington region looking for his children who had been taken
away from him in a custody battle with his ex-wife. He implied that
authorities framed him, planting items such as DNA and gun evidence to
convict him.
In an often testy 4-hour cross-examination, Muhammad continued to refer to
Malvo as his "son" even though the younger man tried to show during his
testimony that he was no longer under Muhammad's sway. Malvo says he shot
3 victims
Malvo told jurors that he shot 3 of the 13 sniper victims, while Muhammad
pulled the trigger on the rest. He said Muhammad was the shooter in all
but 1 of the 6 Maryland murders.
In March, Muhammad persuaded Circuit Judge James Ryan to let him defend
himself, despite statements from two psychiatrists who said he may be
mentally ill.
During closing arguments, Muhammad grew wild-eyed and sometimes shouted as
he quoted the Bible, Mark Twain and Groucho Marx.
He struggled to mount a defense, hampered by his failure to meet deadlines
on calling witnesses. He originally wanted to call hundreds of people to
the stand, but the judge limited him to just a few dozen because he failed
to follow proper courtroom procedure.
Many witnesses did not want to take part in his defense, refusing to show
up at court even though they were issued subpoenas by lawyers helping
Muhammad with his case.
In Maryland, Muhammad was charged with 1st-degree murder for the deaths in
Montgomery County of James Martin, Premkumar Walekar, James "Sonny"
Buchanan, Sarah Ramos, Lori Lewis Rivera and Conrad Johnson.
Maryland prosecutors originally sought a death sentence, but dropped those
plans earlier this year. Muhammad's Virginia defense attorneys and some
victims questioned whether it was necessary to reopen old psychological
wounds from more than 3 years ago.
Muhammad could still face prosecution for earlier shootings in Alabama and
Louisiana. He and Malvo are linked to other shootings in Maryland,
Arizona, Georgia and Washington state.
(source: The Associated Press)