John Allen Muhammad, beltway sniper, dead
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By Talibah Chikwendu
Special to the NNPA from the
Afro-American Newspaper
WASHINGTON (NNPA)—It was a quiet and somber event. So still, Dena Potter, Associated Press reporter and media witness, told the AFRO, that the sound of a stomach growling among the witnesses was clearly heard.
It was in this stillness that the life of John Allen Muhammad, infamously known as the “Beltway Sniper,” drifted away. When death was pronounced at 9:11 p.m. Nov. 10, Muhammad became the 104th person to be executed in Virginia since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 by the Supreme Court.
Muhammad was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in Virginia for the murder of Dean Myers during the three weeks in October 2002 that he and accomplice Lee Malvo terrorized Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia. During this time, they shot 13 people, at random, in high traffic public places, killing 10. They were arrested Oct. 24, 2002. Malvo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
About 30 minutes before the execution was scheduled to occur, a statement from one of Muhammad’s appellate attorneys, J. Wyndel Gordon, was televised. “His attitude is strong. Mr. Muhammad is sturdy… He maintains his innocence and he always has. He extends his condolences to the families.”
CNN reported that while an area was established outside the prison gates for protestors, there were very few people present to protest this execution.
By this time it was clear—despite the fact that a telephone line to Virginia’s Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was open until the execution was underway— Muhammad would be put to death as scheduled. On Oct. 9 the Supreme Court denied his last appeal through the courts and earlier on Nov. 10, the governor issued a statement of his intentions, saying, “I decline to intervene.”
Director of Communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections Larry Traylor came out of the Greenville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Va., at approximately 9:15 p.m. to make the official announcement of Muhammad’s death, which was broadcast by several news stations. He said that the first of the three drugs was administered to Muhammad at 9:06 p.m.
“The execution of John Allen Muhammad has been carried out under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Death was pronounced at 9:11 p.m. There were no complications,” Taylor announced.
Muhammad was described my media witnesses Sarah Abruzzese, Jon Burkett and Potter as clean shaven, wearing a denim shirt and pants and flip flops. He was escorted into the execution chamber under his own power and did not have a spiritual advisor.
“He looked around; he was lucid,” said Potter. “He was stoic. He stared straight at the ceiling, didn’t blink his eyes or anything; just refused to talk.”
The contents of Muhammad’s last meal were not made public at his request and he made no final statements.
Muhammad, according to Traylor and the witnesses, laid his head to the side and closed his eyes before the first drug was injected and remained that way. Burkett indicated that at 9:07 p.m. “you could see him blinking and twitching a lot” and that he took seven deep breaths and was completely still by 9:08 p.m.
The media, six state-mandated witnesses and the members of law enforcement and the judicial system present were separated from the victim’s family members by a wall of one-way glass. They could see the process clearly, but neither Muhammad nor the 27 other witnesses could see them.
Once Muhammad was strapped to the gurney, the execution chamber was obstructed by a curtain, to protect the identities of those assisting in the execution, so the medical preparations could be completed. Once finished, and once the executioners were in place behind another curtain, the area was reopened for the witnesses. Traylor said the governor’s office was asked if there was any reason not to proceed and the answer was no.
While it was hoped the execution would help families of the victims move on, feelings ran high in both directions among those who spoke once Muhammad was dead. Jonathan Sheldon, an appellate attorney for Muhammad, faltered with emotion as he made a statement for the legal team and Muhammad’s family. He expressed sympathy for the victim’s families that “have to relive those horrible days” and sadness for Muhammad’s children who lost a member of their family as well. “We renew our condolences and we offer our prayers for a better future,” he said in closing.
The Prince William County prosecutor that secured Muhammad’s conviction, Paul Ebert, was a witness. He called the execution a “somewhat anti-climatic” adding, “He died peacefully, much more than many of his victims.”
Muhammad’s trial attorney Peter D. Greenspun called Muhammad a “person of humor and grace” and a “challenged and mentally ill gentleman.” He added, “Today at 9:11 a very ill man was executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Throughout the day CNN tapped Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Metro Police Department chief from 1998 to 2006, for comments.
During the execution, Ramsey participated in the Larry King Show coverage. “He’s a coldblooded killer, period,” said Ramsey at the close of the program. “This whole issue of mental illness— I don’t buy it for one second. He knew exactly what he was doing. He got exactly what he deserved. And if he was mentally ill, he just got a therapy session about 55 minutes ago and it was the appropriate session.”
This is part of the November 25, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.
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