Word: muhammad
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John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, the prime suspects in the sniper attacks that left 10 dead and three wounded in the Washington, D.C. area, face murder charges in Maryland, Virginia and Alabama, and are also considered suspects in a February killing in Washington state. This week, the Justice Department filed 20 federal weapons and extortion charges against Muhammad. The same counts were levied against Malvo privately; his age prevents him from being charged or tried publicly. The big question: Where will they be tried first...
...Because the men are currently in federal custody, John Ashcroft will likely have final say over where Muhammad and Malvo will be tried first. They can be tried more than once and sentenced to death in more than one jurisdiction, but the first trial will be the newsmaker - and career-maker - while the later trials will fade into the background. The first judgment will also be the first to be carried out; a quick death sentence would render following trials moot...
...While federal charges traditionally take precedence over state murder changes, some legal experts believe the states have stronger cases (multiple first degree murder counts). And many locals insist the privilege of the first trial should go to Montgomery County, Maryland, where six murder charges have been filed against Muhammad and Malvo - by far the most in a single state. "This case should be initiated in Montgomery County," Douglas Gansler, the Montgomery County state's attorney, said in an interview with the New York Times. "Our families were terrorized and paralyzed by these shootings, and they were disproportionately affected by this...
...They have all had the same eye color, hair color, skin color and half of them have been named Muhammad,” she said. “This is not racial profiling; it’s a description of the suspect...
...Muhammad had risen slowly through the ranks after enlisting in the Army in November of 1985, having attained only the rank of sergeant when he was honorably discharged nine years later. Most of his medals were those the military awards for showing up rather than for singular acts of soldiering, although the exception was his Army Achievement Medal. (Officials have not yet explained what he had done to merit the latter.) But one area in which Muhammad shone was his marksmanship. Although he was never trained as a sniper, Muhammad's Marksmanship Badge carried an "expert" rating - earned...