DEATH TO MUHAMMAD

No surprise here: Jury Recommends Death Penalty in Muhammad Trial

John Allen Muhammad was condemned to die Monday, a sentence the convicted sniper drank in without a flicker of emotion or word of remorse.

The seven-woman, five-man jury deliberated for 5 1/2 hours Friday and Monday before handing down the recommendation, which came exactly one week after they found Muhammad guilty of two counts of capital murder in the death of Dean H. Meyers in Prince William County. Muhammad also was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and of a firearms violation.

In sentencing Muhammad to death by lethal injection, the jury found that Muhammad showed depravity and acted in an “outrageously vile and wanton” manner when he killed Meyers. Meyers was gunned down Oct. 9, 2002 at a Manassas gas station. Muhammad shook hands with his attorneys before being led away by deputies.

Prince William Circuit Court Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. scheduled formal sentencing for Feb. 12. Millette can still reduce the sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole.

If we’re going to have a death penalty, then surely this is a textbook case for its application.

FILED UNDER: Law and the Courts,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.