to a last minute appeal. Barring clemency by the outgoing Gov. Kaine, the action by the court clears the way for John Allen Muhammad’s execution tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9 PM. The New York Times reports: “The court did not comment in refusing to hear Muhammad’s appeal, but three justices objected to the relative haste accompanying the execution. Justice John Paul Stevens complained that “under our normal practice, Muhammad’s petition for the court to take his case would have been discussed at the justices’ conference scheduled for Nov. 24. But because Virginia scheduled the execution for Tuesday, the judicial process was rushed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond VA, upheld the death sentence three months ago. In rejecting Muhammad’s appeal, that federal panel said it was “unable to find reversible error in the conclusions of the state and district courts.”
Under Virginia law, an inmate is allowed to choose the method by which he will be put to death -- either lethal injection or the electric chair. Because Muhammad declined to select a method, by law he will receive a lethal injection. Along with his partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, he was the Beltway Sniper – murdering 10 people in 2002. According to The New York Times: “The governor has said that he is personally opposed to the death penalty, but he has allowed a number of executions to take place since he took office in 2006. Virginia has the nation’s second-busiest death chamber, behind Texas.”
Looking him up in Wikipedia, we learn that -
Born John Allen Williams in New Orleans, Louisiana, Muhammad enlisted in the Louisiana Army National Guard in 1978 and, after seven years of service, volunteered for active duty in 1985. In 1987 he joined the Nation of Islam While in the Army, Muhammad was trained as a mechanic, truck driver and specialist metalworker. He qualified with the Army's standard infantry rifle the M16, earning the Expert Rifleman's Badge. This rating is the Army's highest of three levels of marksmanship for a basic soldier. He was discharged from military service following the Gulf War, as a sergeant, in 1994.
As a member of the Nation of Islam, Muhammad helped provide security for the "Million Man March" in 1995, but Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhanhas publicly distanced himself and his organization from Muhammad's crimes.Muhammad moved out of the country and spent time with his children in Antigua around 1999, apparently engaging in credit card and immigration document fraud activities. It was during this time that he became close with Lee Boyd Malvo, who later acted as his partner in the killings. John Allen Williams changed his name to John Allen Muhammad in October 2001. After his arrest, authorities also claimed that Muhammad admitted that he admired and modeled himself after Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda and approved of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
I don’t believe in the death penalty. Strapping a man or woman down to inject them with a lethal dose of anything serves no purpose. It seems too easy, too clean, too easy. Will this really serve justice. Will it make the victim survivors feel better. Would not a firing squad be more effective. Until that is resolved and it never will be – then a life sentence without parole would be the proper course of action to take in this and any other death penalty case. What will you be doing at 9 PM tomorrow evening?
