John Allen Muhammad
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John Allen Muhammad (born Williams; December 31, 1960 – November 10, 2009) was an American convicted
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
er from
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
. He, along with his partner and accomplice
Lee Boyd Malvo Lee Boyd Malvo (born February 18, 1985), also known as John Lee Malvo, is a convicted murderer who, along with John Allen Muhammad, committed a series of murders dubbed the D.C. sniper attacks over a three-week period in October 2002. Malvo was a ...
(aged 17), a native of
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
, carried out the
D.C. sniper attacks The D.C. sniper attacks (also known as the Beltway sniper attacks) were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, Mary ...
of October 2002, killing 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert citizens. Although the actions of the two individuals were classified by the media as
psychopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...
attributable to
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
characteristics, whether or not their psychopathy meets this classification or as a
spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations ...
is debated by researchers. Born as John Allen Williams, Muhammad joined the
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
in 1987 and later changed his surname to Muhammad. At Muhammad's trial, the prosecutor claimed that the attacks were part of a plot to kill his ex-wife and regain custody of his children, but the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support this argument.
His trial for one of the murders (of Dean Harold Meyers in
Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
) began in October 2003, and the following month he was found
guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...
of
capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...
. Four months later he was
sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. While awaiting
execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
in Virginia, in August 2005, he was
extradited Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
to
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
to face some of the charges there. He was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder on May 30, 2006. Upon completion of the trial activity in Maryland, Muhammad was returned to Virginia's death row pending an agreement with another state or the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
seeking to try him. He was not tried on additional charges in other Virginia jurisdictions and faced potential trials in three other states and the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
involving other murders and attempted murders. All appeals of his conviction for killing Meyers had been made and rejected. Appeals for Muhammad's other trials remained pending at the time of his execution. Muhammad was executed by
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
on November 10, 2009, at 9:06 p.m. EST at the
Greensville Correctional Center Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. The prison, on a plot of land, is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. "901 Corrections Way Jarratt, VA 2387 ...
near
Jarratt, Virginia Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 652 at the 2020 census. In 1848, Jarratt was a stop on the Petersburg Railroad. Jaratt was incorporated in 1938. Geography Jarratt is locate ...
, and was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. EST. Muhammad declined to make a final statement.


Early life

Born John Allen Williams in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
, to Ernest and Eva Williams, he and his family moved to
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
when his mother was diagnosed with
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
; she died when he was three years old. After his mother's death, his father left. Williams was mainly raised by his maternal grandfather and an aunt. In 1987, at the age of 27, he joined the
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
. As a member of the Nation of Islam, Muhammad helped provide security for the "
Million Man March The Million Man March was a large gathering of African-American men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995. Called by Louis Farrakhan, it was held on and around the National Mall. The National African American Leadership Summit, a leading ...
" in 1995. Nation of Islam leader
Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
has publicly distanced himself and his organization from Muhammad's crimes. Muhammad kidnapped his children and took them to
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
around 1999, apparently engaging in credit card and immigration document fraud. It was during this time that he became close with
Lee Boyd Malvo Lee Boyd Malvo (born February 18, 1985), also known as John Lee Malvo, is a convicted murderer who, along with John Allen Muhammad, committed a series of murders dubbed the D.C. sniper attacks over a three-week period in October 2002. Malvo was a ...
, a
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n child who later acted as Muhammad's partner in the killings. Williams changed his name to John Allen Muhammad in October 2001. After his arrest, authorities also claimed that Muhammad admitted that he admired and modeled himself after
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
and
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and approved of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. Malvo testified that Muhammad had indoctrinated him into believing that the proceeds of an extortion attempt would be used to establish "a camp in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
where homeless children would be trained as terrorists." Muhammad was twice divorced; his second ex-wife, Mildred Muhammad, sought and was granted a
restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...
, alleging abuse. Muhammad was arrested on federal charges of violating the restraining order by possessing a weapon. Under federal law, those with restraining orders are prohibited from purchasing or possessing guns, as per the
Lautenberg Amendment The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, often called the "Lautenberg Amendment" ("Gun Ban for Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence", , ), is an amendment to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, enacte ...
to the
Gun Control Act of 1968 The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA or GCA68) is a U.S. federal law that regulates the firearms industry and firearms ownership. Due to constitutional limitations, the Act is primarily based on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generally ...
. Defense attorneys in the Malvo trial and prosecutors in Muhammad's trial argued that the ultimate goal of the Beltway sniper murders was to kill Mildred in order to regain custody of his three children.


Military service

In August 1978, Muhammad enlisted in the
Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (French: Garde nationale de Louisiane) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The United States Constitution, Constitution of the United Stat ...
at
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
as a
combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare ta ...
. He transferred to the Regular Army on November 6, 1985, and was trained as a mechanic, truck driver and specialist metalworker. He qualified with the Army's standard rifle, the
M16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
, earning the Expert Rifleman's Badge. This is the Army's highest of three levels of basic rifle marksmanship for a soldier. Muhammad's first tour was with the
15th Engineer Battalion The 15th Engineer Battalion is an Echelon above Brigade (EAB) battalion of the United States Army. It is currently a subordinate unit of 18th Military Police Brigade and is headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Soldiers of the 15th Engineer Bat ...
at Fort Lewis in 1985. In 1991, he served in the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
with a company that dismantled Iraqi chemical warfare rockets, service for which he received the
Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...
, the
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) The Naut Tahrir al-Kuwait ( ar, نوط تحرير الكويت) (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait) was instituted by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for service during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign. Background The Saudi Arabian ...
and the
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) The Kuwait Liberation Medal ( ar, وسام التحرير ''Wisām al-Taḥrīr'', , ) is a medal created in 1994 that was issued by the government of Kuwait to both local and foreign military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War's "Liber ...
. In 1992, he was at
Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...
, California, with the 13th Engineers and in 1993 was back at Fort Lewis with the
14th Engineer Battalion The 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion is a Combat Engineer Battalion of the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The battalion is a subordinate unit of the 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and I Corps. The ...
. Muhammad was honorably discharged from the Army with the rank of
sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
on April 24, 1994, after 16 years of service. He received the following awards:
Army Service Ribbon The Army Service Ribbon (ASR) is a military award of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990. History Effective 1 Au ...
,
National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...
, Overseas Ribbon, Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon and
Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...
.


D.C. sniper attacks

Police followed a lead in which Muhammad or Malvo left a note at one of the shootings to tell the police to investigate a liquor store robbery-murder that had occurred in
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
. Investigators responding to that crime scene found one of the suspects had dropped a magazine with his fingerprints on it; these were subsequently identified as belonging to Malvo, whose prints were on file with the
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...
and who was known to associate with Muhammad. They had lived together for around a year in
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
, where Malvo used the alias John Lee Malvo. Muhammad's identification led to the discovery that he had purchased a former police car, a blue
Chevrolet Caprice The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by Chevrolet in North America for the 1965 to 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1960s ...
, in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
on September 11, 2002. A lookout broadcast to the public on that vehicle resulted in the arrest of Muhammad and Malvo when the car was spotted parked at an
Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
rest stop in
Myersville, Maryland Myersville is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,626 at the 2010 United States Census. History The town was incorporated in 1904.
.


Criminal case

On October 24, 2002, Muhammad was captured in Maryland, where most of the attacks and murders took place. Although Maryland sought to bring him to trial,
United States attorney general The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...
reassigned the case to the jurisdiction of Paul Ebert, the Commonwealth's Attorney for
Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
. Virginia was viewed as more likely to impose a death sentence, which was borne out by the Virginia and Maryland verdicts. Virginia also allowed the death penalty for juveniles. In October 2003, Muhammad went on trial for the murder of Dean Meyers. The crime had occurred in Prince William County, near the city of
Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
. The trial had been moved from Prince William County to
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
, approximately 200 miles away. Muhammad was granted the right to represent himself in his defense and dismissed his legal counsel, though he immediately switched back to having legal representation after his opening argument. He was charged with murder, terrorism,
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and the illegal use of a firearm and faced a possible death sentence. Prosecutors said the shootings were part of a plot to extort $10 million from local and state governments. The prosecution said that they would make the case for 16 shootings allegedly involving Muhammad. The terrorism charge against Muhammad required prosecutors to prove he committed at least two shootings in a three-year period. The prosecution called more than 130 witnesses and introduced more than 400 pieces of evidence intended to prove that Muhammad undertook the murders and ordered Malvo to help carry it out. Evidence included a rifle found in Muhammad's car that was linked by ballistics tests to eight of the 10 killings in the Washington area and two others in Louisiana and Alabama; the car, which was modified so that a sniper could shoot from inside the trunk; and a laptop computer, also found in the car, that contained maps with icons pinpointing shooting scenes. Witness accounts put Muhammad across the street from one shooting and his car near the scene of several others. There was also a recorded phone call to a police hotline in which a man, his voice identified by a detective as Muhammad's, demanded money in exchange for stopping the shootings. Muhammad's defense asked the court to drop the capital murder charges because there was no direct evidence. Malvo's fingerprints were on the Bushmaster rifle found in Muhammad's car and DNA from Muhammad was discovered on the rifle, but the defense contended that Muhammad could not be put to death under Virginia's "trigger-man law" unless he actually pulled the trigger to kill Meyers, and nobody testified that they saw him do so. On November 17, 2003, Muhammad was convicted of all four counts in the indictment against him: capital murder for the shooting of Meyers; capital murder under Virginia's antiterrorism statute for homicide committed with an intent to terrorize the government or the public at large;
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
to commit murder; and the illegal use of a firearm. In the penalty phase of the trial, the jury, after five hours of deliberation over two days, unanimously recommended that Muhammad be sentenced to death. On March 9, 2004, a Virginia judge agreed with the jury's recommendation and sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death. On April 22, 2005, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed his death penalty, stating that Muhammad could be sentenced to death because the murder was part of an act of terrorism. The court also rejected an argument by defense lawyers that he could not be sentenced to death because he was not the triggerman in the killings. Virginia Supreme Court Justice
Donald W. Lemons Donald Wayne Lemons (born February 22, 1949) is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. He served as chief justice from 2015 to 2021. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia. Biog ...
said at the time, "With calculation, extensive planning, premeditation and ruthless disregard for life, Muhammad carried out his cruel scheme of terror." In May 2005, Maryland and Virginia reached an agreement to allow his extradition to face Maryland charges. He was held at the maximum security Sussex I State Prison near Waverly, Sussex County, Virginia, which houses Virginia's male
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
inmates. In August 2005, while awaiting
execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
in Virginia, he was extradited to
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
to face charges there. On May 30, 2006, a Maryland jury found Muhammad guilty of six counts of murder. He was sentenced to six consecutive life terms without possibility of parole on June 1, 2006. Neither Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana nor Washington (state) moved to try Muhammad, given his death sentence for murder in Virginia. In 2006, Malvo confessed that the pair also killed 14 victims in California, Arizona, and Texas. On May 6, 2008, it was revealed that Muhammad asked prosecutors in a letter to help him end legal appeals of his conviction and death sentence "so that you can murder this innocent black man." An appeal filed by Muhammad's defense lawyers in April 2008 cited evidence of brain damage that would render Muhammad incompetent to make legal decisions and that he should not have been allowed to represent himself at his Virginia trial. On September 16, 2009, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Mary Grace O'Brien set Muhammad's execution date for November 10, 2009. On November 9, 2009, Muhammad's petition for review of his death sentence was denied by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. Justice
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
, joined by Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
and
Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
, wrote a separate opinion stating that Virginia's rush to set an execution date "highlights once again the perversity of executing inmates before their appeals process has been fully concluded" while noting that they concurred with the decision that the appeal ought not be heard.


Civil case

In 2003, Malvo and Muhammad were named in a civil lawsuit by the Legal Action Project of the
Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and again ...
on behalf of two of their victims who were seriously wounded and the families of some of those murdered. Although Malvo and Muhammad were each believed to be
indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little , co-defendants
Bull's Eye Shooter Supply The D.C. sniper attacks (also known as the Beltway sniper attacks) were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, Mary ...
and
Bushmaster Firearms, Inc. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC, was an American firearm manufacturer and distributor. The company's product line revolved around semi-automatic pistol and rifle variants of the M4/AR-15 design. The company is currently defunct; it merge ...
contributed to a landmark $2.5 million out-of-court settlement in late 2004.


Testimony of Lee Boyd Malvo

In Muhammad's May 2006 trial in
Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
, Malvo, who was sentenced to a term of life without parole for his role in the shootings, confessed to a more detailed version of the pair's plans. After psychological counseling, he admitted that he was lying at the earlier Virginia trial when he admitted to being the trigger man for every shooting. He said he lied to save Muhammad from a death penalty sentence. Malvo believed that he would not face the death penalty because he was a minor. In two days of testimony, Malvo outlined detailed aspects of all the shootings. Part of his testimony concerned Muhammad's complete plan with three phases in the Washington, D.C. and
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
metro areas. Phase one consisted of meticulously planning, mapping and practicing their locations around the D.C. area so after each shooting they could quickly leave the area on a predetermined path and continue to the next location. Muhammad's goal in phase one was to kill six white people a day for 30 days. Malvo described how phase one did not go as planned due to heavy traffic and the lack of a clear shot or getaway routes. Phase two was meant to be undertaken in Baltimore, but was never carried out. It was to begin with the killing of a pregnant woman by a shot to the abdomen. The next step was to have been the killing of a
Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
police officer and, at the officer's funeral, to detonate improvised explosive devices that contained shrapnel to kill police officers attending the funeral. Phase three was to begin during phase two. It was to extort millions of dollars from the United States government. The money would be used to pay for travel to Canada, stopping en route at
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
s and orphanages to recruit impressionable young boys with no parents or guidance. Once he recruited a large number of young boys and arrived in Canada, Muhammad would train the boys with weapons and send them across the United States to carry out mass shootings as he had done in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.


Execution

On November 10, 2009, hours before Muhammad's scheduled execution, pleas for
clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
made by his attorneys were denied by
Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
. Under Virginia law, a defendant convicted of capital murder is allowed to choose the method by which he or she will be put to death—either
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
or
electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...
. As Muhammad declined to select a method, by law the method of lethal injection was selected for him. He was offered a selection of a
last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...
, which he accepted. Muhammad's last meal consisted of chicken, red sauce and cake. Muhammad declined to make a final statement and his execution began at 9 p.m. EST at the
Greensville Correctional Center Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. The prison, on a plot of land, is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. "901 Corrections Way Jarratt, VA 2387 ...
, Greensville County, near
Jarratt, Virginia Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 652 at the 2020 census. In 1848, Jarratt was a stop on the Petersburg Railroad. Jaratt was incorporated in 1938. Geography Jarratt is locate ...
. The lethal injection process began at 9:06 p.m. EST. Muhammad was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. EST. Muhammad's body was cremated and the ashes given to his son in Louisiana.


In film

Muhammad is portrayed by
Bobby Hosea Bobby Hosea (born 1955) is an American film and television actor. He played O. J. Simpson in the Fox movie ''The O. J. Simpson Story''. and John Allen Muhammad in '' D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear''. He is the head of Train 'Em Up Academy, Inc., and ...
in the 2003 film '' D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear'', by
Ken Foree Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
in the 2010 film ''
D.C. Sniper ''D.C. Sniper'' is a 2010 American direct-to-video drama-thriller film directed by Ulli Lommel and written by Lommel and Ken Foree. It stars Foree, Christopher Kriesa and Maria Ochoa. Plot The film tells over the Beltway sniper attacks, the crime ...
'' and by
Isaiah Washington Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and media personality. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2007. Wash ...
in the 2013 film ''
Blue Caprice ''Blue Caprice'' is a 2013 American independent drama film directed by Alexandre Moors, and based on the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks. The film stars Isaiah Washington and Tequan Richmond as the perpetrators of the attacks, John Allen Muhammad and Le ...
''.


See also

*
List of people executed in Virginia This is a list of people executed in Virginia after 1976. The Supreme Court decision in ''Gregg v. Georgia'', issued in 1976, allowed for the reinstitution of the death penalty in the United States. Capital punishment in Virginia was abolished by t ...
*
List of people executed in the United States in 2009 This is a list of people executed in the United States in 2009. Fifty-two people were executed in the United States in 2009. Twenty-four of them were in the state of Texas. One (Larry Bill Elliott) was executed via electrocution. One notable execut ...
*
List of serial killers by number of victims A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, in two or more separate events over a period of time, for primarily psychological reasons.A serial killer is most commonly defined as a person who kills three or more peop ...
*
List of serial killers in the United States A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines serial murder a ...


References


External links


An Angry Telephone Call Provided One Crucial Clue
''The New York Times'', October 25, 2002 – explains tracking and arrest of Muhammad
Louis Farrakhan addresses sniper arrest
Press Conference Transcript, October 26, 2002 *
Indictment Virginia. v. Muhammad

Order changing venue: Virginia v. Muhammad


{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad, John Allen 1960 births 2009 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American criminals 21st-century executions by Virginia African-American Muslims African-American United States Army personnel American criminal snipers American male criminals American people convicted of murder American spree killers Converts to Islam Criminals from Louisiana Executed African-American people Executed American serial killers Executed spree killers Louisiana National Guard personnel Male serial killers Members of the Nation of Islam Military personnel from Louisiana People convicted of murder by Maryland People convicted of murder by Virginia People convicted on terrorism charges People executed by Virginia by lethal injection People executed for murder People extradited within the United States People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from New Orleans People from Tacoma, Washington United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army soldiers