The sniper’s last stand
by Lori Barrett | April 28, 2008 at 5:59 am
Posted in baltimore crime
John Allen Muhammad, one half of the infamous DC snipers, is trying to avoid the death penalty in Virginia.
In what is likely his final chance to appeal, Muhammad’s lawyers argue that jurors were barred from hearing testimony during his 2003 trial that may have affected sentencing. Because Muhammad refused an interview with the prosecution’s mental-health expert, the judge wouldn’t allow the defense to provide any expert testimony of their own. Jurors therefore never heard about the abuse Muhammad experienced as a child.
Reportedly, Muhammad was whipped with electrical cords and beaten with hammers by family members. Although his brothers and sisters have testified to this abuse, the appeal says that Muhammad did not want to acknowledge his childhood and intended to deny any abuse in court.
Additionally, a psychiatrist was not allowed to testify about Muhammad’s brain abnormalities that likely result from the abuse — a shrunken cortex sometimes associated with schizophrenia.
If the appeal is denied, the state of Virginia can proceed with Muhammad’s execution.
To me, this is a waste of time. It’s unfortunate that Muhammad was abused as a child, but that’s no excuse for being a serial killer. And even if Virginia upholds his appeal, Lee Malvo has already confessed that the pair also killed people in a number of other states, including Texas. I’m sure they would welcome his trial with open arms.
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April 29th, 2008 at 1:27 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Full disclosure: The night John Muhammad and Lee Malvo committed their crimes in Ashland, my wife and I were on our way back to Maryland from visiting with my family in southeastern Virginia. We ended up stuck on I-95 for hours when the state police shut the road down. But that isn't why I think this appeal is a waste of time as LB said above.
Muhammad brought this on himself, and abuse is definitely no excuse for murder. He himself refused the interview that would have strengthened the abuse/insanity angle.
I am not a forensic psychiatrist, but it seems highly likely that even someone with a widely acknowledged form of mental illness can still tell the difference between right and wrong;if they were not making that distinction, they would not be so eager to avoid getting caught.
The whole appeals process may be a necessary part of our system of justice, but in cases of overwhelming evidence like this it is hard to see the point. They committed murder, they know it is wrong and the system worked properly. I feel sorry for them in some respects because every involved is a human being, but enough is enough.