Jurors recommend death for Muhammad Monday, November 24, 2003 Posted: 11:06 AM EST (1606 GMT) John Allen Muhammad -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jurors must decide whether sniper John Allen Muhammad will get the death penalty for his role in last fall's killing spree in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports. (November 21) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CNN/Time POLL Should John Allen Muhammad be sentenced to death? Yes 56% No 38% Interviews with 1,505 adult Americans conducted by telephone November 18-19, 2003 Sampling error: +/-3 percentage points VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (CNN) – Jurors on Monday recommended John Allen Muhammad be sentenced to death for orchestrating last year's sniper shootings in the Washington area. Jurors recommended death for two of four counts Muhammad was convicted of last week in the shooting death of Dean Harold Meyers: terrorism and capital murder. Muhammad also received a 10-year sentence recommendation for a conspiracy and a three-year sentence recommendation for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Under Virginia law, a jury recommends sentencing and a judge decides whether to accept the verdict or impose another sentence. Formal sentencing was set for February 12. Last week the same jury convicted the 42-year-old Muhammad of the October 9, 2002, killing of Meyers outside a Manassas, Virginia, service station. Meyers was one of 10 people killed in the October 2002 sniper killings. Three people were wounded but survived the attacks. Muhammad could face the death penalty on two of the convictions; capital murder and murder committed in an act of terrorism. Prosecutors argued that Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo -- Muhammad's alleged accomplice currently on trial in nearby Chesapeake -- acted as a team, with Malvo as the trigger man in most of last year's sniper shootings. Malvo, 18, is on trial for the October 14, 2002, slaying of Linda Franklin in the parking lot of a Fairfax, Virginia store. Malvo has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue that he was brainwashed by Muhammad. The jury is deciding whether Muhammad should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. A death sentence would require a unanimous decision. The jury's decision will serve as a recommendation, which the judge can then use to impose a sentence. The judge can reduce the recommended sentence but not increase it. Millette is expected to follow the jury's decision. Before recessing last Friday, jurors asked Millette two questions: What to do if they could not reach a unanimous decision, and if deliberations could continue Tuesday if needed. Responding to the first question, Millette said after six weeks of trial but only a few hours of deliberations it would be too early for jurors to decide they could not reach a unanimous decision. Millette also said deliberations could continue Tuesday if needed. Earlier, the judge had said there would be no proceedings in the trial that day because one juror could not be there because of medical reasons. Millette said at the start of the trial there would be no proceedings Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving week. On Thursday prosecutors asked the jury to sentence Muhammad to death after defense lawyers tried to humanize their client by showing his home movies. Assistant prosecutor James Willett said the friendly, smiling Muhammad jurors saw in the movies "is already dead." Prosecutor Paul Ebert said life means little to Muhammad. Muhammad's defense pleaded with jurors to spare his life.
Well, I'm against the death penalty, but if there was ever a case that warranted it, I guess this would be it.
Great news. I was in Richmond, VA while him and his little buddy were doing their deeds and it had the town scared S***LESS.
I was in Washington DC and Baltimore for a week during this time. The sniper situation was the only thing on the news during this time. People in the entire area were scared as hell and afraid to leave their homes. Muhammad deserves the death penalty.
Killing someone because they killed is illogical at best, and it just perpetuates the cycle of violence. Death is never the answer. Let this a$$hole rot in a prison for the next 50 years. Time can be the cruelest punishment of all.
I might argue that the combination of time and daily or perhaps hourly torture is the cruelest, however since that is not an option, death must suffice.
I'm not all that Pro Death penalty but I'm definately not for paying 50K ~ 100K a year on a useless individual Why should he not have to earn his keep the rest of us do . .. . He needs to do something productive FOR society the SOCIETY he violated Barring that .. . just give his parts to deserving recipients. So he can save lives. . . . HeLL . .. give his Kidney to Alonzo Mourning Rocket River I'm not surprised by this either
Good, he's getting fried. In all honesty if mental torture was an option, he should get it, but I'll settle for death.
Fact is, when someone is arrested, society pays out the nose. Doesn't matter what the punishment is or what crime was committed -- justice is very costly. But studies show that life in prison (without parole) is cheaper than capital punishment. * Capital punishment is three times more costly than life in prison, according to Amnesty International. * In Florida, each execution costs the state $3.2 million; life imprisonment runs $600,000. * Studies in California, Kansas, Maryland, and North Carolina conclude that capital punishment is far more expensive than life in prison. Economics should play *no* role in justice, but the death penalty is * much* more expensive than life in prison.
Life in prison is cheaper than the death penalty due to this country's excessive legal costs during the appeals process. That's why I'm in favor of the revolver in the courtroom. After the clown is convicted, simply point and pull the trigger. Pretty cheap solution.
Yeah, but whay if new evidence comes to light that proves a guy's innocence? Also, those appeals aren't always about proving innocence, sometimes a lot of them are trying to lower their sentence from Death to Life. My only beef with the DP is that it is absolute. If something changes, as is always possible after a person has exhausted their appeals, an innocent person could be put to death. Too much of a risk just to give a murderers the easy way out IMHO. Maybe if the HPD Crime Lab fiasco hadn't happened, my opinion might be different. As for Muhammad, there's no doubt he did it. If I could pick a punishment for him, they should put him in a prison courtyard with snipers in all the towers. The snipers can shoot at him while he runs around with the false promise that if he survives, he can go free. The snipers then toy with him, missing on purpose while he runs around all day. Finally, they tell him it's over, so that he starts to feel relieved while the snipers load hollow point rounds into their guns. While he's resting, the snipers shoot his knees so that he can't run and has time to realize what's coming right before a hollow point takes his head off.
I don't care how many people he killed. Executing him would just be state-sanctioned murder. The death penalty has got to stop. America should be better than this, and join the rest of the civilized world.
Method of death can be changed Also As stated it is the appeals etc that cost I don't mind them but the actually DEATH is not that expensive I think it should be used SPARINGLY but in this case. . . IT SHOULD BE USED [I think Susan Smith and Andrea Yates should have some parts to other folx too] Rocket River I have not killed anyone. . . GIMMIE 600K and I won't . .. hell saving the state some ends Hell spend 600K on me over the next 40 years
That's a huge factor in making me waffle about the sensibility of having the Death Penalty-- the sad expense of administering it. Key question: Is justice served in the trial phase or the penalty phase of a case?
I live in Richmond, and they closed out our school for two days since thy had supposedly caught the sniper at a gas station on broad street, but it turned out to be some mexicans he had sent out...
