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.

His teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, is to be sentenced today to life in prison.

Muhammad denied any involvement in the killings yesterday, telling the judge, "Don't make a fool of the Constitution of the United States of America. 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".

But Millette said the sentence was supported by law".

During his trial, prosecutors described Muhammad as "captain of a killing team" and portrayed him as Malvo's father figure, a stern man who trained the teenager to do his bidding.

Larry Meyers, older brother of the victim, testified yesterday that "Dean meant so much to each and every one of us. I'd prefer to remember the good times".

Defence lawyer Peter Greenspun told the judge Muhammad is not inherently evil.

"I've represented guys that you look them in the eye and see evil. I've spent a lot of time with John Allen Muhammad and that's not him," Greenspun said.

Prosecutor Paul Ebert disagreed. "I see nothing but pure evil," he said.

Defence lawyers had filed a motion on Monday arguing that life in prison was more appropriate to eliminate the disparity between Muhammad's punishment and that of Malvo, aged 18.

Malvo, tried separately in Chesapeake, was given life in prison by the jury in the October 14, 2002, slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, 47, outside a Virginia Home Depot store.

Earlier on Monday, Millette rejected a defence request for a new trial. Defence attorneys based their motion on letters that Malvo wrote in the Fairfax County jail.

Defence lawyers said they were unaware of the letters before trial and said they show Malvo acted independently and was not under the sway of Muhammad.

Millette said the letters added nothing to the case.

Muhammad's lawyers have raised several issues likely to be primary points of appeal. First, they argue that under Virginia law only the trigger man in a shooting death can be eligible for the death penalty.

The six-week trial never determined conclusively who pulled the trigger in the killings, but evidence suggests it was Malvo.

But prosecutors argued that Virginia law allows a death penalty in cases in which a defendant can be shown to be "the instigator and moving spirit" of a killing.

Muhammad and Malvo demanded a $10 million payment from the government to stop the shootings and left notes at scenes promising "more body bags" if their demands weren't met.

The killings began on October 2, 2002, when the pair shot dead a 55-year-old man outside a Maryland supermarket. The following day, five people were killed in Maryland and Washington four within about two hours. On October 4, the two seriously wounded a woman in Virginia.

From then until their capture on October 24, residents lived in fear and schools closed.

Muhammad and Malvo were captured at a highway rest stop in Maryland, in a car that had been altered to allow someone to fire a rifle from inside the trunk.

They were subsequently linked to three killings in September 2002, in Atlanta; Montgomery and Baton Rouge. Alabama officials hope to try the pair for the Montgomery killing.