WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A Maryland appellate court Monday refused to overturn the convictions of sniper John Allen Muhammad, who held the Washington area in terror for 22 days in 2002.
Muhammad, and his teenage companion, Lee Boyd Malvo, engaged in a shooting spree that left 10 people dead and three critically injured. Killings in Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia that left three dead also were attributed to them, along with deaths in California, Arizona and Texas. Malvo pleaded guilty and testified against Muhammad.
Muhammad was sentenced to six consecutive life terms. In his appeal, Muhammad argued he didn't get a fair trial in Montgomery County, Md., because, among other things, his trial judge was wrong in allowing him to represent himself and never should have found him competent to stand trial.
The appeals court, however, said it found no reversible error in the trial transcripts and the evidence against Muhammad was overwhelming.
Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia for one of the sniper deaths in that state.
