Washington area sniper found guilty

[VaBeachGuy 12]

John Muhammad, the "D.C. Sniper" was found guilty of all charges today in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

 

By Deborah Zabarenko

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Reuters) - A jury on Monday found Gulf War (news - web sites) veteran John Muhammad guilty of two counts of capital murder in last year's string of sniper shootings that killed 10 people and terrorized the Washington area.

 

Muhammad was convicted of one of the killings and also on conspiracy and a weapons charge. He faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

 

The 42-year-old former soldier stood as the verdicts were read after six and a half hours of deliberation, then sat impassively at the defense table, leaning his chin on his hand.

 

After a break, the jury began considering Muhammad's punishment.

 

"All in all, we reserve the ultimate punishment -- the death penalty -- for the worst of the worst," prosecutor Richard Conway told jurors. "Folks, he still sits right in front of you without a shred of remorse."

 

But defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro worked to humanize Muhammad by offering "a little glimmer of how he got to this point," describing him as a wonderful father, a proud soldier and a man who had loyal friends.

 

"Put John Muhammad in a box of one sort or another: one is made of concrete, one is made of pine," Shapiro told the jury, referring to a prison cell or a coffin.

 

Muhammad was convicted on all charges -- two capital murder counts, a charge of conspiracy and one of using a firearm in committing a felony -- in the death of Dean Meyers, who was gunned down on Oct. 9, 2002, outside Manassas, Virginia.

 

Each of the capital murder counts carries a possible death sentence or a life prison term. The jury must also decide Muhammad's sentence on the conspiracy count, which could bring a prison term of 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. They will not decide the penalty on the weapons charge, which carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence.

 

One capital murder conviction found Muhammad committed multiple murders, including Meyers and one other person, within a three-year period. The other found that Muhammad committed murder as an act of terrorism, a violation of Virginia's new anti-terror law, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

 

During the month-long trial, prosecutors led the jury on a tour of the sniper shootings that gripped the area in and around the U.S. capital for 23 days last October.

 

Thirteen seemingly random shootings, including 10 killings, created a climate of fear that pervaded Washington and its suburbs in Virginia and Maryland.

 

Some of the hundreds of exhibits presented at Muhammad's trial -- including a .223 Bushmaster rifle -- will be used by prosecutors in the trial of Muhammad's 18-year-old alleged accomplice, Lee Malvo, in Chesapeake, Virginia.

 

Malvo, who was 17 when the crimes were committed, is being tried as an adult and could also face the death penalty.

 

In Muhammad's case, lawyers for both sides wrangled over what may be presented in the next phase of the trial.

 

Judge LeRoy Millette ruled prosecutors can bring in information about an escape attempt they say Muhammad made during his incarceration, so they can argue this gives a clue to what kind of prisoner he might be if sentenced to life.

 

Except for relatives of Meyers, victims or their families are barred from testifying during the penalty phase.

 

Prosecutors have portrayed Muhammad as a controlling, cold-blooded killer who molded Malvo into an expert sniper.

 

Muhammad's lawyers noted the circumstantial nature of the prosecution case and questioned the authority of expert witnesses who testified about sniper technique and ballistic evidence linking Muhammad to the murder weapon.

 

Both trials were moved some 200 miles southeast of Washington's Virginia suburbs in search of unbiased juries.

 

The penalty phase in the Muhammad case was to resume on Tuesday. Attorneys estimate it could take four days.

 

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...per_muhammad_dc

[trekzone 0]

thank god, ive always been close to this topic, as VBG well knows......but im glad he was found guilty (it was a bit hard not to be), and at the risk of sounding hypocritical, and even though it does go against my beliefs i hope the SOB gets the needle (needle or shock?) - shock and dont wet the sponge

Edited November 18, 2003 by trekzone