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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 20 — In a surprise twist on the first day of suspected sniper John Allen Muhammad’s murder trial, a judge ruled Monday that the accused triggerman can defend himself against charges that he gunned down a Maryland man just over a year ago.
Oct. 19 — The sniper trial was moved to Virginia Beach after a judge ruled it was impossible to get a fair jury where the crime was committed. NBC’s Joe Johns reports.
THE RULING came after a private half-hour bench conference at the outset of the trial involving Judge LeRoy Millette Jr., Muhammad and defense and prosecuting attorneys. Millette and Muhammad spoke directly to one another for five minutes.
The judge said that Muhammad’s court-appointed defense lawyers, Peter Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, would be available to assist him in the capital case.
“His attorneys are now what is known as stand-by counsel,” Millette told the jury before instructing them on the law that they will be asked to apply in the case.
Prosecutor James Willett then began his opening statement by silently assembling a Bushmaster rifle allegedly used in the sniper killings. He also showed the jury pictures of the modified car with a hole in the trunk that investigators say was used for the shootings.
Willet also reminded jurors of the impact of the killings, saying that Muhammad’s Oct. 24, 2002, arrest again allowed “ordinary people going about ordinary tasks ... to do so without fear for their very lives.”
‘BASIC ABILITY TO REPRESENT HIMSELF’
Willett briefly addressed Muhammad’s decision to represent himself.
“It is an unusual but not unheard of thing for someone in his position to do,” Willett told the jury. “The court felt he did have at least the basic ability to represent himself.”
Muhammad’s alleged accomplice, Lee Malvo, who is scheduled to face trial later, was expected to appear in court later in the day.
Muhammad, left, listens to Judge LeRoy Millette Jr., center, as prosecutors Paul Ebert and James Willett and a sheriff's officer listen.
Prosecutors have not spelled out the order of their witnesses or the evidence, but Malvo was flown to the jail in Virginia Beach on Sunday from northern Virginia and has orders to appear in court, said Paula Miller, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutors would not say why Malvo was summoned. He refused to testify at a recent hearing and instead invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. His appearance, however, could allow witnesses to testify they recognize Malvo and saw him with Muhammad.
“We don’t know if he’s here for another day or if he’s here longer than that,” Miller said.
Malvo is scheduled to go on trial next month in another of the killings. Both men could face the death penalty.
Muhammad is accused in the trial beginning Monday of gunning down Dean Harold Meyers at a Sunoco station outside Manassas, Va., on the night of Oct. 9, 2002.
Meyers, was 53, a Vietnam veteran and a project manager and design engineer from Gaithersburg, Md., who had worked for the same firm for 20 years.
Trials and tribulations of the century
Meyers was the seventh victim in a three-week shooting spree by a sniper who left 10 people dead in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
A 42-year-old Gulf War veteran, Muhammad faces a possible death sentence or life in prison without parole if convicted on either of two murder charges against him in Meyers’ death, one of which is the first test of a state anti-terrorism law crafted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Under this law, Muhammad could be convicted of murder even if he did not pull the trigger in the Manassas killing.
Muhammad also faces one charge of conspiracy and a weapons charge.
The jury that will hear the case against Muhammad includes many people with ties to the military. Experts said they expect it to favor the prosecution.
“In general, Virginia juries are going to be prosecution juries,” except in more urban areas, said Donald H. Smith, an Old Dominion University sociology professor who studies jury behavior.
The trial was moved to Virginia Beach after defense lawyers argued that every northern Virginia resident could be considered a victim because of the fear the shootings inspired.
MANY JURORS HAVE MILITARY TIES
The panel of 12 jurors, plus three alternates, was chosen Friday after four days of questioning. It includes a retired Navy pilot, the spouse of a retired Navy mechanic, an Air Force retiree whose husband also was in the Air Force, and a former Navy officer whose husband retired from the Navy.
The trial is the first to come out of the crime spree prosecutors have said was part of a plot to extort $10 million from the government. Malvo’s trial, in the Oct. 14, 2002, shooting death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, begins Nov. 10 in Chesapeake, also in southeast Virginia.
Both suspects are being tried in Virginia first because of the state’s strong death penalty laws. Virginia has executed 89 people — second only to Texas’ 310 — since the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.
The high number of women on the jury — 10 — suggests the defense may already be focusing on keeping Muhammad from being executed, Chicago-based jury consultant Paul Lisnek said.
“The women may be more sympathetic and are generally less likely to put someone to death,” Lisnek said.
If the jury leans toward the prosecution, sparing Muhammad the death penalty might be an easier task.
“All the defense has to do is find one juror who won’t go along,” Lisnek said.
Malvo’s attorneys have indicated in pre-trial proceedings that they intend to argue Muhammad indoctrinated Malvo, while Muhammad’s defense team suggested in comments to potential jurors last week that they maintain Malvo was able to make his own decisions.
Thoughts?
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 20 — In a surprise twist on the first day of suspected sniper John Allen Muhammad’s murder trial, a judge ruled Monday that the accused triggerman can defend himself against charges that he gunned down a Maryland man just over a year ago.
Oct. 19 — The sniper trial was moved to Virginia Beach after a judge ruled it was impossible to get a fair jury where the crime was committed. NBC’s Joe Johns reports.
THE RULING came after a private half-hour bench conference at the outset of the trial involving Judge LeRoy Millette Jr., Muhammad and defense and prosecuting attorneys. Millette and Muhammad spoke directly to one another for five minutes.
The judge said that Muhammad’s court-appointed defense lawyers, Peter Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, would be available to assist him in the capital case.
“His attorneys are now what is known as stand-by counsel,” Millette told the jury before instructing them on the law that they will be asked to apply in the case.
Prosecutor James Willett then began his opening statement by silently assembling a Bushmaster rifle allegedly used in the sniper killings. He also showed the jury pictures of the modified car with a hole in the trunk that investigators say was used for the shootings.
Willet also reminded jurors of the impact of the killings, saying that Muhammad’s Oct. 24, 2002, arrest again allowed “ordinary people going about ordinary tasks ... to do so without fear for their very lives.”
‘BASIC ABILITY TO REPRESENT HIMSELF’
Willett briefly addressed Muhammad’s decision to represent himself.
“It is an unusual but not unheard of thing for someone in his position to do,” Willett told the jury. “The court felt he did have at least the basic ability to represent himself.”
Muhammad’s alleged accomplice, Lee Malvo, who is scheduled to face trial later, was expected to appear in court later in the day.
Muhammad, left, listens to Judge LeRoy Millette Jr., center, as prosecutors Paul Ebert and James Willett and a sheriff's officer listen.
Prosecutors have not spelled out the order of their witnesses or the evidence, but Malvo was flown to the jail in Virginia Beach on Sunday from northern Virginia and has orders to appear in court, said Paula Miller, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutors would not say why Malvo was summoned. He refused to testify at a recent hearing and instead invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. His appearance, however, could allow witnesses to testify they recognize Malvo and saw him with Muhammad.
“We don’t know if he’s here for another day or if he’s here longer than that,” Miller said.
Malvo is scheduled to go on trial next month in another of the killings. Both men could face the death penalty.
Muhammad is accused in the trial beginning Monday of gunning down Dean Harold Meyers at a Sunoco station outside Manassas, Va., on the night of Oct. 9, 2002.
Meyers, was 53, a Vietnam veteran and a project manager and design engineer from Gaithersburg, Md., who had worked for the same firm for 20 years.
Trials and tribulations of the century
Meyers was the seventh victim in a three-week shooting spree by a sniper who left 10 people dead in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
A 42-year-old Gulf War veteran, Muhammad faces a possible death sentence or life in prison without parole if convicted on either of two murder charges against him in Meyers’ death, one of which is the first test of a state anti-terrorism law crafted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Under this law, Muhammad could be convicted of murder even if he did not pull the trigger in the Manassas killing.
Muhammad also faces one charge of conspiracy and a weapons charge.
The jury that will hear the case against Muhammad includes many people with ties to the military. Experts said they expect it to favor the prosecution.
“In general, Virginia juries are going to be prosecution juries,” except in more urban areas, said Donald H. Smith, an Old Dominion University sociology professor who studies jury behavior.
The trial was moved to Virginia Beach after defense lawyers argued that every northern Virginia resident could be considered a victim because of the fear the shootings inspired.
MANY JURORS HAVE MILITARY TIES
The panel of 12 jurors, plus three alternates, was chosen Friday after four days of questioning. It includes a retired Navy pilot, the spouse of a retired Navy mechanic, an Air Force retiree whose husband also was in the Air Force, and a former Navy officer whose husband retired from the Navy.
The trial is the first to come out of the crime spree prosecutors have said was part of a plot to extort $10 million from the government. Malvo’s trial, in the Oct. 14, 2002, shooting death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, begins Nov. 10 in Chesapeake, also in southeast Virginia.
Both suspects are being tried in Virginia first because of the state’s strong death penalty laws. Virginia has executed 89 people — second only to Texas’ 310 — since the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.
The high number of women on the jury — 10 — suggests the defense may already be focusing on keeping Muhammad from being executed, Chicago-based jury consultant Paul Lisnek said.
“The women may be more sympathetic and are generally less likely to put someone to death,” Lisnek said.
If the jury leans toward the prosecution, sparing Muhammad the death penalty might be an easier task.
“All the defense has to do is find one juror who won’t go along,” Lisnek said.
Malvo’s attorneys have indicated in pre-trial proceedings that they intend to argue Muhammad indoctrinated Malvo, while Muhammad’s defense team suggested in comments to potential jurors last week that they maintain Malvo was able to make his own decisions.
Thoughts?
