One D.C. sniper will die tonight, though the other lives on

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With all of his appeals now exhausted and Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) refusing to intervene, convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad will be executed at 9:00 p.m. tonight at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarrat, VA.

In August 2009, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Muhammad’s final appeal in his conviction and sentencing for his role in the 2002 DC area shooting spree. Among his many victims, one was a 13-year-old boy who was walking to school.

While Muhammad’s life is about to come to an end, his willing accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, who admitted to targeting “as many white people” as they could kill, will never see the inside of a death chamber.

The decision by a Chesapeake, Va. jury just two days before Christmas 2003, to spare the life of convicted murderer Lee Malvo proved to be perfect timing for the defense.

Undoubtedly, had the sentencing phase taken place after Christmas, Malvo too, would now be awaiting his much deserved date with the executioner.

Had Judge Jane Marum Roush sequestered the jury, thus not allowing their heartstrings to be influenced by all of the sights and sounds of the season, the families of those gunned down by that savage killer would now be sleeping a little easier. It is standard practice in a high-profile case, to isolate the jury and it certainly was warranted in this important case.

Many of the victims' families expressed disappointment in the jury, the judge however deserved just as much criticism. As this case wound down and the Christmas holiday neared, Judge Roush should have isolated that jury.

Malvo and Muhammad allegedly committed nearly 20 murders throughout Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, and Washington D.C. Malvo has never expressed any remorse for his actions, he in fact laughed when he told police officers how he chose his unwitting victims and how much damage the Bushmaster rifle he used caused to their bodies. Malvo does not deserve sympathy, he, in fact, deserves the same fate he gave to his victims.

One of the victims was Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, who was shot to death by Malvo while standing outside of a Kensington, MD gas station. Her mother, Marion Lewis said of Malvo’s sentence: "I'm very disappointed in the American justice system. Our society has now been sentenced to the responsibility of seeing to this man's health and welfare for the next 30 or 40 years, and that's unconscionable."

Paul LaRuffa of Clinton, Md. survived an attack from Malvo and Muhammad. He spoke with reporters immediately following the jury's decision and said: "There were two people who did the ultimate crime. One got the ultimate penalty and one didn't. I ask you why?"

Could it be the "made for TV” Christmas specials, the lights, the trees, the carols, the ever-present Salvation Army bell ringers?…All of those things contribute to filling our hearts with the "Christmas spirit". That is the time of year which we tend to take stock of ourselves, and of how perhaps we should atone for our indiscretions. I have no doubt that the impending holiday and the feeling of forgiveness that many of us feel during the twelfth month of the year, had a great influence on that jury's decision.

By sentencing Malvo to life, the jury may have made it easier on themselves to settle in for a long winter's slumber and enjoy the holiday with their loved ones. However, it no doubt made an already tough time for the victims' families and the few survivors of Malvo's vicious attacks even worse. These people have to live with the knowledge that Malvo's parents can still speak to their son, while their innocent children, parents, siblings, and friends lie dead.

They must also live with the knowledge that as long as this monster is alive, there is a chance that he could be released. It is not out of the realm of possibility that in 15 or 20 years, with the right governor, Malvo could walk out of prison.

Since Virginia only allows their governors to serve one term, there would be no concern of voter backlash for a very liberal governor to release Malvo.

While it may seem implausible now, there is precedent for such an irresponsible decision.

Though she received a life sentence, Manson family member and attempted presidential assassin Lynnette “Squeaky” Fromme was recently released from prison, after spending 34 years behind bars. At the time of her sentencing, no one could imagine a scenario in which she would leave prison alive either.

One day, when Lee Boyd Malvo is in his 40’s and his crime spree has been long since forgotten by the public, he will undoubtedly place all the blame for the murders he committed squarely upon the shoulders of his dead accomplice, and claim that he is no longer the confused and angry young man he was in the fall of 2002.

Will enough people listen?

 

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