John Allen Muhammad Executed

It's been seven years since the D.C. Sniper was apprehended for committing murder.

On Tuesday night, justice was done.

JARRATT, Virginia -- John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind of the sniper attacks that terrorized the U.S. capital region for three weeks in October 2002, was executed Tuesday.

Muhammad died by injection at 9:11 p.m. at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, prison spokesman Larry Traylor said.

He died at 9:11 PM.

That seems appropriate.

He said Muhammad had no final statement and that Traylor didn't hear him utter any words during the execution.

Muhammad was executed for killing Dean Harold Meyers, who was shot in the head at a Manassas gas station during a spree that left 10 dead across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The shootings terrorized the region, as victim after victim was shot down while doing everyday chores: going shopping, pumping gas, mowing the lawn. One child was shot while walking into his middle school.

"We extend our condolences not only to the families and loved ones of the victims, but also to the family and loved ones of John Allen Muhammad," said J. Wyndal Gordon, one of Muhammad's attorneys. "It's just a tragic situation all around."

Give me a break.

Muhammad chose his fate.

His victims did not choose theirs.

It's tragic that their lives were cut short.

It's been seven long years since Muhammad terrorized the D.C. area. He had seven years of life that his victims did not.

It's not a "tragic situation all around." It's different for the families of the victims than it is for the cold-blooded murderer's family.

Earlier, Gordon had described Muhammad as fearless and insisted he was innocent.

"He is absolutely unafraid and he will die with dignity — dignity to the point of defiance," Gordon said.

Muhammad didn't allow his victims to die with dignity. They didn't have the luxury of being defiant.

They were gunned down in cold blood.

People stayed indoors. Those who did go outside weaved as they walked or bobbed their heads to make themselves a less easy target.

The reign of terror ended on Oct. 24, 2002, when police captured Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, as they slept at a Maryland rest stop in a car they had outfitted for a shooter to perch in its trunk without being detected.

Muhammad and Malvo also were suspected of fatal shootings in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona. Malvo was sentenced to life in prison.

This was a "reign of terror," no question about it.

Muhammad had his trial and appeals that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

After Governor Timothy M. Kaine, DEMOCRAT, denied Muhammad clemency, his execution was carried out in accordance with the laws of Virginia.

(Did I point out that Kaine is a DEMOCRAT?)

So justice was done.

Once again, I find myself conflicted about the death penalty.

On an abstract level, it's easy to oppose it and I do. I don't cheer the execution of Muhammad.

But I know, if Muhammad had killed a loved one of mine, if I experienced the terror of the D.C. Sniper on a very personal, concrete level, I would want him to pay with his life.

...Muhammad met with family members in the hours before his execution but did not have a spiritual adviser, Traylor said.

Muhammad spent his last hours on earth with family members.

He had the chance to say goodbye. That's more than he granted his victims.


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Related: "The Beltway Snipers' Motives" by Daniel Pipes