When I was a freshman in high school, a sniper went on a rampage throughout Washington, D.C. For three weeks, the country held its breath waiting for what was to happen. Five people were killed in the first 24-hours of the attack, and at the end 10 were slain. And on Tuesday night, over seven years later, the mastermind of the attack was executed by lethal injection.
John Allen Muhammad has maintained his innocence over the course of his two trials. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, testified in Muhammad's second trial that Muhammad planned to kill up to six people a day for 30 days. Quick math, that's 180 people. So, in actuality, the tragedy could have been much worse.
It seems so long ago that the United States was gripped with the terror of the D.C. Sniper. But it's almost insulting that Muhammad has not acknowledged his crimes. According to an article on cnn.com before his execution, "If Muhammad enters the death chamber without acknowledging his crimes, he will be known as the leader of one of the most enigmatic mass murder teams in history."
Prosecutors said during the trials that Muhammad had eventually planned to kill his wife, Mildred, to gain custody of their three children. It's difficult for me to understand what would lead someone to think that this is the best way to get his or her kids back.
There are so many other steps that could have been taken, but instead Muhammad resorted to killing 10 innocent victims and wounding three more. According to Malvo's testimony, Muhammad brainwashed Malvo. He was only 17 when the rampage started. Now he's 24, and he is spending the rest of his life in prison.
He was convicted of the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin in Fairfax County, Va. According to the cnn.com article, some thought that if Muhammad had regained custody of his children after murdering his wife, he planned on killing Malvo.
For seven long years, Muhammad has stated that he did not commit the crimes. Last week he even wrote a letter to the federal court that he was innocent and "back to the fight - and still on death row!"
It's disconcerting that someone with so much evidence piled against him would continually state his innocence. But since Muhammad hasn't talked about it past that, no one will ever really know what was going on in his head. According to a scan of Muhammad's brain released by defense attorneys, he had signs of brain damage to the front and rear of his brain. It was stated that this is consistent with schizophrenia and other brain dysfunction. He also reportedly suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his service in the first Gulf War. Perhaps this was the missing key to the questions.
But now, it's too late. There is so much complexity to this case that I don't feel it can be adequately understood over the past seven years. There are news stories about his ex-wife, Carol Williams, and his children with her. There are stories about the warning signs that officials missed throughout the investigation and before the rampage even started.
Some, such as his ex-wife Mildred, feel as though his mental state and PTSD were responsible for his actions. But now, we really just won't know.
It feels like people could have, should have, would have done a million things to stop this from happening. But they didn't. And now he's dead, and Malvo is behind bars.
I feel as though there is a certain resolve now that everything is over. But 10 families must still deal with their grief caused by Muhammad and Malvo.
http://media.www.har...d-3831272.shtml
Edited by True Lord of Chaos, 12 November 2009 - 11:09 PM.
