Beltway sniper sentenced to death

A JUDGE rejected John Allen Muhammad's insistence of innocence and sentenced him to death, saying his actions in the Washington-area sniper shootings that left 10 people dead were "so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension".

Circuit Judge LeRoy F Millette Jr ordered that Muhammad be executed on October 14, but that date is likely to be postponed to allow appeals.

Muhammad, aged 43, was convicted of capital murder in November and a jury recommended the death sentence for the October 2002 murder of Dean Harold Meyers at a petrol station near Manassas.