quote Lesley Pro_04

Thoughts/reactions to this guys?

quote BBC.co.uk

The man behind the 2002 sniper attacks in and around Washington DC will be put to death later, after a last-ditch appeal was thrown out.

John Allen Muhammad's lawyers say he is mentally ill, but Virginia Governor Tim Kaine rejected a plea for clemency.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court quashed an appeal for a stay of execution.

Muhammad, 48, will face a lethal injection for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, one of 10 people killed during the attacks.

Muhammad's accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is serving a life sentence in jail.

The pair killed 10 people during three weeks of attacks in Maryland, Washington and Virginia.

Muhammad is due to be put to death at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.

But his legal team has criticised the ruling, saying ex-soldier Muhammad suffered from Gulf War Syndrome.

Lawyer Jonathan Sheldon told the BBC's World Today: "A psychiatrist examined him and said he's paranoid and psychotic and delusional and gave many examples."

Mr Sheldon also said brain scans of Muhammad had revealed malformations linked to schizophrenia.

The shootings left the Washington area gripped by fear, with victims attacked while shopping, outside schools, or just sitting and reading.

Mr Meyers was shot at a petrol station in Manassas, Virginia.

A skilled marksman, Muhammad picked off his targets using a sniper rifle, always with a single round and from a distance.

After three weeks, he was arrested at a truck stop, along with Malvo.

Seven years on, Washington residents recall sense of fear while sniper was on the loose

Prosecutors say Muhammad has never shown remorse.

In addition to the 10 people they killed around the Washington area, the pair are suspected of murders in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona.

Cheryll Witz is one of several victims' relatives going to watch Muhammad's execution.

Malvo said he shot her father, Jerry Taylor - at Muhammad's direction - on an Arizona golf course in March 2002.

"He basically watched my dad breathe his last breath," she told the Associated Press news agency.

"Why shouldn't I watch his last breath?"

quote Styot

Seems like the guy is mentality ill. I don't agree with the death penalty at the best of times, but especially not on the mentally ill.

quote DevilDogDave

And he still thought through, and killed those people. If this had been some random assed run and gun adventure, I'd say he had no idea what he was really doing. But SNIPING those people? That's a calculated act, crazy or not, he deserves to die.

quote DevilDogDave

And he still thought through, and killed those people. If this had been some random assed run and gun adventure, I'd say he had no idea what he was really doing. But SNIPING those people? That's a calculated act, crazy or not, he deserves to die.