Thursday, November 12, 2009

John Allen Muhammad, the Washington, D.C. sniper spree killer, has been executed in Virginia. Muhammad was convicted for one of ten murders occurring between Oct. 9 and 22, 2002 in and around Washington, DC. Dean Harold Meyers was shot on the Oct. 9 by Muhammad. Lawyers for Muhammad appealed for a not plea on the reasons of him being mentality ill but the appeal was rejected. Muhammad was 48 at the time of execution.

He was executed at 02:11 GMT and the execution took 5 minutes. According to Larry Traylor of the Department of Corrections Muhammad remained quiet before and during the execution. His last meal was chicken in red sauce and strawberry cakes.

Both his lawyers and the state attorney appointed to represent Muhammad pleaded for the death penalty to be dropped. They reported that Muhammad was suffering from Gulf War syndrome.

Muhammad and his accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo killed ten people in Washington D.C and Virginia. The pair had also been accused of murders in the states of Alabama, Louisiana and Arizona. Malvo is currently serving life imprisonment. Muhammad’s execution was watched by several members of the victims’ families.