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John Allen Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo wreaked havoc on the Washington, DC area in a series of sniper attacks in 2002 that left 10 people dead and an entire region on edge. After a tip from a truck driver on their whereabouts, Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002.

Crime Beat - DC Sniper Case Closes Chapter (Image: WENN)

The key testimony from the cae actually came from Malvo. After the pair were arrested, Malvo, the teen, testified in detail the plans laid out by John Allen Muhammad after initially lying and claiming he was the gunman.


A Wiki repot notes that Malvo, who's serving a sentence of life without parole for his role in the shootings, took the stand and confessed that he was lying "at the earlier Virginia trial where he had admitted to being the triggerman for every shooting. Malvo claimed that he had said this in order to protect John Allen Muhammad from the potential death penalty, because it was more difficult to achieve the death penalty for a minor."

Muhammad is scheduled for execution tonight, pleas for clemency were denied by Kaine. "I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts," Kaine, who is known for carefully considering death penalty cases, said in a statement, according to a report from the Huffington Post.

"Accordingly, I decline to intervene."


The report notes that "under Virginia law, an inmate is allowed to choose the method by which he or she will be put to death—either lethal injection or the electric chair. Because Muhammad declined to select a method, by law he will receive a lethal injection. The execution is scheduled to take place at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia."