Two men Arrested in Sniper Case

[FeeFee]

Judge sentences sniper to death/Jury had also decided execution for Muhammad
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:45 p.m. ET March 09, 2004
MANASSAS, Va. - John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death Tuesday for his role in the sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington area.
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Circuit Judge LeRoy Millette Jr. turned aside a plea from Muhammad’s lawyers to spare their client’s life. He ordered Muhammad 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 murder of Dean Harold Meyers at a gas station near Manassas.

'I had nothing to do with this'
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.

Prosecutor sees "evil"March 9: After a judge upheld the death penalty, prosecutor Paul Ebert said he saw "nothing but evil" in John Allen Muhammad. MSNBC


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 his 18-year-old partner in the killings, Lee Boyd Malvo.
Defense motions filed Friday had asked Millette to show leniency, citing Muhammad’s lack of a previous criminal background, the effect of an execution on Muhammad’s children and the general sanctity of human life.
“We do a disservice to our children when we kill,” wrote defense lawyers Jonathan Shapiro and Peter Greenspun. “Whether sanctioned by the state or not, killing is killing. And when the news goes out that John Muhammad was killed with the blessing of the court, the prosecutors, the legislature and the governor, children come to understand that killing is an acceptable thing.”
Malvo up Wednesday
Malvo, who will be formally sentenced Wednesday in Chesapeake, was given life in prison by the jury in that case. Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush has no leeway to alter that sentence. In Virginia, judges can accept a jury’s sentence recommendation or reduce it, but cannot increase it.
“It offends the Constitution to execute Muhammad and to save Malvo,” Muhammad’s lawyers wrote, arguing that Malvo was a willful killer who actually pulled the trigger in the Meyers killing. “No rational basis exists to distinguish Malvo from Muhammad.”
Muhammad’s defense also wants to limit victim-impact testimony Tuesday to the Meyers family. Prosecutor Paul Ebert said Monday he wants other families who lost loved ones during the killing spree to testify.