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Muhammad death penalties upheld

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Published: April 22, 2005 at 11:42 AM

WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Virginia's highest court Friday upheld the death sentence of John Allen Muhammad, convicted in a series of sniper killings in 2002.

Muhammad and his then-teenaged accomplice, John Lee Malvo, were suspected of killing 10 people in Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland and the greater Washington area over a 47-day period.

Muhammad was sentenced to two death penalties in one case. Malvo, who was 17 when the killings were carried out, is serving life in prison.

The government said the pair wanted to extort $10 million to stop the slaughter.

A majority opinion from the Virginia Supreme Court said Muhammad and Malvo "randomly selected innocent victims," and added, "Muhammad's crimes cannot be compared to any other case in the Commonwealth. The evidence of vileness and future dangerousness in support of the jury's verdict justifies its sanction of death."

Muhammad could still ask the Supreme Court of the United States to review his case.

Topics: John Allen, John Allen Muhammad, John Lee, John Lee Malvo, Lee Malvo
© 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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