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D.C. SNIPER TERRORMuhammad getsdeath for murderJurors render sentence after 6-1/2 hours, trial of accused co-conspirator Malvo under way Posted: November 24, 200310:55 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad – senior partner in an unprecedented reign of terror that resulted in 19 shootings and 13 deaths last fall – will be executed, a jury determined this morning. Jurors in Virginia Beach, Va., handed down the death sentence after finding the 42-year-old Army veteran guilty of capital murder, conspiracy and use of a firearm to commit a felony in the first of two trials over the Beltway sniper killings....

The jury in the trial of convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad has recommended the death sentence. The seven-woman, five-man jury reached its decision after less than six hours of deliberations. Criminal defense attorney Steven Benjamin was online Monday, Nov. 24 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the case. A transcript follows. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Amnesty International USA Statement on Jury Recommendation of Death in the Case of John Allen Muhammad 11/24/03 4:02:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Edward Jackson of Amnesty International USA, 202-544-0200, ext. 302; 202-251-3894 (cell) WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, released the following statement regarding the jury's recommendation of death in the case of John Allen Muhammad: "Amnesty International extends its deepest sympathies to all of the victims and their families who have been impacted by the tragic shootings, which plagued the DC area last year. The...

<p>Based on the murder convictions, Muhammad was eligible for the death penalty, and the jury recommended that sentence.</p> <p>The verdict first will be appealed to Virginia's Court of Appeals. Then, it will doubtless be appealed by the losing side to Virginia's Supreme Court, which must review all capital murder convictions. Several important legal points will be raised by the appeal.</p>

The decision of the jury will be announced within 15 minutes.

Jurors deliberated the fate of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad on Friday without reaching a decision, indicating in a message to the judge that they were divided. In a note sent after nearly four hours of deliberations, jurors asked what happens if they cannot reach a unanimous verdict, Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. said. "We have spent six weeks. ... I would simply urge you to continue your deliberations," the judge told jurors. "We really want to try to get a unanimous decision." Millette rejected a juror's request to allow jurors to do legal research on the death penalty....

Jury has asked to return to court room. They may have a decision..... developing...

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH — John Allen Muhammad was convicted yesterday of masterminding and carrying out the sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington area last year and now faces two possible sentences: life in prison or the death penalty.</p> <p>"This is a case where the death penalty is the only appropriate punishment," said prosecutor Richard A. Conway, Prince William County assistant commonwealth's attorney, in the opening statement of the punishment phase of the trial, which began in the afternoon after the jury's verdict was read at 11:56 a.m.</p>

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (CNN) -- Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial of John Allen Muhammad, one of two people facing trials for last year's Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings.</p> <p>Jurors are expected to announce the verdict at 11:55 a.m. EST. The decision came after six hours of deliberations.</p>

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Reuters) - Sniper suspect John Muhammad tried to escape after his arrest in a string of fatal shootings around Washington, D.C., and was put in solitary confinement, prosecutors said on Monday.</p> <p>As the jury deliberated for a second day, lawyers for both sides in the capital murder case debated what kind of evidence could be presented at the penalty phase of the trial. If Muhammad is convicted, jurors must decide whether he should be executed or sentenced to life in prison.</p>

One of the men accused of the Washington sniper killings has been found guilty of murder, terrorism, conspiracy and a firearms charge. John Allen Muhammad, 42, now may face the death penalty. He was convicted of shooting dead Dean Meyers at a petrol station in Manassas, Virginia, on 9 October 2002, and murdering "at least one other person". He may also face other charges relating to the killings, which left 10 dead and three wounded. Along with his alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, he is also accused of three murders and three counts of wounding in the state of...

Verdict just in in John Muhammad case: Guilty of Murder.

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH - A jury this morning will start weighing the capital-murder case against John Allen Muhammad, who prosecutors said was the captain of a "killing team" that cut a trail of terror from the Washington suburbs to the Richmond area.</p>

Deliberations Begin in Muhammad Trial .c The Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Jurors began deciding Friday whether sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad shaped his teenage protege into an expert killer or if there isn't enough evidence to prove he directed the Washington area sniper spree last fall. The panel of seven women and five men filed out of the courtroom at 9:05 a.m. to begin deliberations in Muhammad's capital murder trial. ``The case is now in your hands,'' Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette told the jury. With no direct evidence that Muhammad ever fired a shot in last...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - The judge in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad on Wednesday rejected defense motions that would have stricken the death penalty from the jury's consideration. Muhammad, 42, is on trial for the Oct. 9, 2002, slaying of Dean Harold Meyers outside a Manassas-area gas station. Meyers' death is one of 16 shootings prosecutors say were committed by Muhammad and his alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo. In Malvo's trial, 15 miles away in Chesapeake, the judge denied a defense request Wednesday to dismiss the pool of 28 people from which each side is...

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH — A former Army buddy of John Allen Muhammad's yesterday testified that Mr. Muhammad introduced Lee Boyd Malvo to him as a sniper early last year.</p> <p>"John introduced him to me ... and he said he was a sniper," auto mechanic Robert Holmes testified in the Muhammad sniper trial. "Lee just smiled."</p>

<p>VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- The rifle found in sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad's car was used in shootings that killed eight people and injured three during last year's sniper spree, and in two earlier slayings, firearms experts testified Thursday.</p>

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- Maps of six shooting scenes marked with skull-and-crossbones icons were in a laptop computer found in the car when the two sniper shooting suspects were arrested, an FBI computer expert said. A caption next to the site of the slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin -- who was shot in the head outside a Home Depot -- read "Good one," expert John Hair testified Wednesday. Franklin's daughter, Katrina Hannum, was in court and listened to the testimony with her head down and her hand to her forehead. Prosecutors began presenting forensic evidence to connect John...

Sniper Suspect's 'Spiritual' Supporters Couple Has Unique Take on Trial By Natalie Hopkinson Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 6, 2003; Page C01 VIRGINIA BEACH -- For weeks they've sat there -- he in plentiful locks tucked inside a black mesh Rasta hat, she in a black scarf covering her hair, ears and neck -- on the back row of the courthouse room where the D.C. sniper trial is being shown to reporters on closed-circuit television. They watch the proceedings intently, scribbling notes and occasionally exchanging discreet whispers, but never mingling with the other journalists chronicling the fate of alleged...

JOSH WHITE; The Washington Post VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Jurors wept Thursday as they listened to a recording of the wails and sobs of sniper victim Linda Franklin's husband making the emergency call reporting his wife's shooting. "I'm at the Home Depot on Route 50," William Franklin screamed into a cell phone. The former Marine testified that he had been sprayed with his wife's blood, turned and saw her lying on the pavement. His words on the tape melted into loud cries. "She's shot in the head. Oh, my God." The three-minute 911 recording hushed Courtroom 10 in one of...