November 10th.
That’s the execution day set for John Allen Muhammad, known more commonly around the country as the D.C. sniper.
Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad (center) was flanked by his attorneys Peter Greenspun (left) and Jonathan Shapiro as he addressed the court before his death sentence in 2004. (Steve Helber/ Associated Press/ File 2004)
The Washington Post’s Jerry Markon explains:
Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Mary Grace O’Brien chose the date during a teleconference with lawyers in the case Wednesday morning, said Jon Sheldon, an attorney for Muhammad. He said Muhammad plans to ask Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) for clemency and to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, his last remaining legal options after a federal appellate court rejected his latest appeal last month.
If those efforts fail, Muhammad probably will be strapped to a gurney at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, administered a series of three drugs and pronounced dead, which is Virginia’s method of executing prisoners by lethal injection. Virginia inmates can choose lethal injection or the electric chair, but under state law, inmates who make no choice automatically die by lethal injection — and most executions are carried out by that method.
Muhammad was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to death for killing Dean H. Meyers near Manassas in October 2002, one of 10 sniper slayings that month. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in a separate trial for a sniper killing in Fairfax County.
The sniper attacks, which killed 10 people, terrorized the Washington, D.C. area in 2002.
Karma strikes again at John’s Hopkins University as police discovered the intruder an undergraduate student killed with a samurai sword was actually a repeat-offender who had been released from prison last weekend.
Brent Jones of The Baltimore Sun reports:
With the 3- to 5-foot-long, razor-sharp weapon in hand, police say, Pontolillo crept toward the noise. He noticed a side door in the garage had been pried open. When a man inside lunged at him, police say, the confrontation was fatal.
[...]
In a statement Tuesday, Hopkins officials told students there had been more than a half-dozen burglaries in the area recently, and that police presence would be bolstered.
The stars also seemed to allign against U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), who’s outburst of “You lie!” during an Obama speech to Congress prompted national outcry and attention.
Former President Jimmy Carter said the remark was one rooted in racism. Speaking at a town hall meeting at Emory University, Carter — a democrat — insisted much of the anti-Obama sentiment comes from “a racist attitude” and said he hopes that both parties will attempt to do away with these prejudices.
Quick Hits:
- On average, according to a Gallup Organization poll, families save $2,676 for their children’s education, totalling less than $14,000 — or about 3.6 of their annual household income, the New York Times reports.
- Turns out the Washington D.C. area is a pretty awesome place to be living afterall, according to Reuters, who say the district has become the most popular area for the country’s wealthy young adults — 25 to 34 year-olds making more than $100,000 per year.
- Not even college sports stars are safe from fans anymore — the New York Times reports being the “big man on campus” might not be so pleasant afterall.
- Amtrak is allowing guns on board. That’s right — guns. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of allowing Amtrak passengers to carry unloaded and locked handguns in their checked bags, the New York Times said, even though Amtrak officials said the proposal could be potentially problematic. Uh… you think?
Oh well, you know what they say — what goes around comes around.
Amtrak is just following up with the same rules airlines have been using for years. The biggest threat from people storing locked, unloaded guns in luggage they can’t even access is that Amtrak employees could steal it. Hardly a huge threat to public safety there.