The chief prosecutor in Fairfax County, Va., said Tuesday that he has decided to go forward with a second death penalty trial for John Allen Muhammad.
The convicted sniper could make his first court appearance in the next couple of weeks, lawyers said. Defense attorneys Jonathan Shapiro and Peter Greenspun were notified by the court Tuesday that they have been appointed to represent Muhammad, 43, in the fatal shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a Fairfax Home Depot store.
Last year, Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death in the slaying of Dean Meyers at a Prince William County gas station, one of 13 shootings - 10 of them fatal - in the Washington, D.C., area in October 2002.
Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr. on Tuesday cited the gravity of the shootings as his reason for pushing forward despite criticism that the cost of a second trial would be a waste of taxpayer money.
The rifle used in the slayings was traced to a Tacoma gun shop.
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