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.
