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Sentenced to death despite no evidence { March 10 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42215-2004Mar9.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42215-2004Mar9.html
Defiant Muhammad Sentenced to Death For Sniper Slaying
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2004; Page A01
A calm but defiant John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in a Prince William County courtroom yesterday, just moments after he insisted that he had nothing to do with the October 2002 sniper shootings.
Circuit Court Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. imposed the sentence recommended by 12 jurors at Muhammad's trial in the fall, ruling that the crimes were so vile that they deserved the harshest punishment. In rejecting pleas to spare his life, Millette said there was "overwhelming evidence" of Muhammad's guilt.
"In capital cases, more than anything else we do in the criminal justice system, the jury reflects the conscience of the community," Millette said. "These cases were so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension."
Millette scheduled Muhammad's execution for Oct. 14, but mandatory appeals will change that. Although Virginia's death penalty system is one of the swiftest in the nation, Muhammad probably will spend several years on death row.
At a hearing today in Chesapeake, Muhammad's accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, 19, will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The two face additional murder charges in Virginia, Maryland and the District and across the country and probably will stand trial again.
Muhammad, 43, stood impassively as Millette handed down his sentence in the Oct. 9, 2002, slaying of Dean H. Meyers, 53. Muhammad then nodded slowly and thanked the judge. In the crowded rows of wooden benches behind him, relatives of the 13 people in the Washington region who were randomly shot, 10 fatally, shed tears. Some smiled and hugged.
The hearing was little more than a formality, but it again provided a stage for Muhammad to speak on his own behalf. For the first time since he briefly represented himself at the beginning of his capital murder trial, he addressed the court and denied that he had anything to do with the sniper slayings.
"I don't stand before you today and try to make any excuse for nothing," Muhammad said to Millette, his earlier swaggering confidence giving way to softly spoken words and even a quick smile. "Just like I said at the beginning of the trial, I had nothing to do with this, and I say now that I had nothing to do with it."
Muhammad thanked his attorneys, Peter D. Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, and then thanked the judge for showing him respect during his murder trial in Virginia Beach. Muhammad told the court, in tones barely audible even a few feet away, that he is not angry, frustrated or irritated.
"I came from a wonderful family, and I've had a wonderful life, even up until now," said Muhammad, who had a scraggly beard and wore an orange jail jumpsuit. He said the judge should make his own decision. "You do what you have to do, and let me do what I have to do to defend myself."
The courtroom was filled with those affected by the Washington area shootings and those who investigated it, an unusual reunion of many of the people involved in the case. There were dozens of relatives representing victims; federal agents; police investigators and high-ranking officials from several jurisdictions; the judge's family sitting in the front row; and one juror who traveled from Virginia Beach to witness the decision and said she was representing the jury.
Many of those in attendance had witnessed some or all of last fall's high-profile trial, at which prosecutors presented evidence of the carefully planned attacks carried out from the modified trunk of an aging Chevrolet Caprice.
The blue Caprice and a Bushmaster .223-caliber sniper rifle, which was linked to almost all the slayings, became ominous symbols of the three weeks of terror that gripped the Washington area. Muhammad and his attorneys argued at trial that there was no evidence that he shot or killed anyone.
Prosecutors could not prove that Muhammad's finger was ever on the gun's trigger, so they built an entirely circumstantial case against him using DNA, fingerprints, ballistics and a laptop computer found in his car. They argued that Muhammad was devastated by his divorce and the loss of his children and orchestrated a plan to kill at random, with his ex-wife, Mildred, as a possible target. They dubbed Muhammad the captain of a "killing team" that was plotting to kill until a huge payoff was made.
Detectives pieced together a trail of shootings and slayings that spanned the country, and prosecutors presented evidence of robbery-slayings in Alabama and Louisiana linked to Muhammad and Malvo. Jurors decided that the attacks were part of a scheme to extort $10 million from the government
Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert argued that everyone in the region was victimized by the snipers. The prosecutor said Muhammad represents the worst kind of criminal he can fathom and asked Millette to impose a death sentence to end the suffering.
"The folks in this courtroom and many others deserve some closure, some solace . . . that the death and loss of their loved one was avenged, that he had the same fate," Ebert said.
Some of the family members later spoke of their ongoing efforts to curb gun violence, and others said a weight had been lifted. They talked about the missing parts of their hearts, and the grief that has eaten at them. They said they knew that yesterday's proceeding would not be the end, but as they walked away, they finally spoke of justice.
In making an emotional case to Millette, Ebert called two relatives to the stand.
Larry Meyers, whose brother Dean was shot to death while pumping gas in Prince William, briefly glanced at Muhammad as he described his loss. He talked about how his brother was wounded by a sniper's bullet in Vietnam; how he came home and wanted to make the world a better place.
"We all miss Dean in so many ways," Larry Meyers said. "He was my one unmarried brother, and we were all his family. The world was his family."
Linda Franklin, 47, was shot to death Oct. 14, 2002, outside a Home Depot in Fairfax County. In court, her daughter, Katrina Hannum, fought back tears as she spoke of her. Hannum said she does not have a mother now, and her young son does not have a grandmother, because Franklin was gunned down at random.
"She was a beautiful, caring woman who had nothing but love," said Hannum, speaking directly to Muhammad. "I miss her. I miss her for my son, for my baby. . . . It' so wrong; it's so unfair."
After the hearing, Greenspun and Shapiro said they will represent Muhammad through his mandatory appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. Yesterday was a sad day that accomplished nothing but more anguish, Greenspun said, and Shapiro echoed the comments.
"We were utterly awed and humbled by all the pain expressed in that courtroom," Shapiro said. "Nothing was solved today. If anything, more pain was inflicted."
Muhammad probably will face additional prosecutions, with Fairfax County the likely next destination. Prince William prosecutors are expected to announce after today's hearing that they will prosecute Malvo and will try to seek the death penalty, though they probably will hold off until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the acceptability of executing juveniles. Malvo was 17 when the crimes were committed. Ebert declined to comment.
At Malvo's sentencing hearing today in Chesapeake, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush has only one option, because a Chesapeake jury sentenced Malvo to life in prison without parole, the minimum punishment for a capital murder conviction. Although Malvo confessed to playing a role in the slayings, his attorneys claimed that Muhammad brainwashed him and that he was under the older man's control. Jurors found Malvo guilty of killing Franklin, but they opted to spare his life.
If a decision is made to keep Muhammad and Malvo in Virginia, it would preclude prosecutions in other states, such as Maryland, Alabama and Louisiana, where both have been charged with capital murder.
Robert Holmes, a longtime friend of Muhammad's who testified both against him and for him at the trial, said he was saddened by the sentence.
"It's a sad end for a troubled man, that's all," said Holmes, who said he still considers Muhammad a friend. "In all reality, it is a just punishment, but I just wish it had never happened. I wish the victims were still here, and he was still here, and we were just sitting around having a good time. It's so sad."
Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler said he believes another state should get a chance to prosecute the snipers, to apply a different set of laws and to bring cases in communities that were affected. Six of the sniper victims were killed in Montgomery County.
"Part of the prosecution is the healing process, both for the victims and the community," Gansler said. "That hasn't happened in Montgomery County up to this point."
Outside after the sentencing, relatives of the slain spoke at a podium in the cold gray afternoon, sharing hugs and thanking the prosecutors for pressing the case. The daughters and brothers and sisters and mothers solemnly addressed a crowd of television cameras and reporters.
"There are no winners today," said Bob Meyers, another of Dean Meyers's brothers. "This was not a victory, but yet it was something that had to be done, and it was done right."
Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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