Sniper's due process rights violated, his lawyers contend
The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. - Prosecutors violated John Allen Muhammad's due process rights by simultaneously presenting contradictory theories in his capital murder trial and that of fellow sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, attorneys for Muhammad said in court papers Monday.
Muhammad is on death row after being convicted last year in the death of Dean Meyers, one of 10 sniper killings over three weeks in October 2002 in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
One day after Muhammad was sentenced to death, Malvo - who was 17 at the time of the sniper spree - was sentenced to life in prison for the slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin.
Capital murder convictions in Virginia are automatically appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. In a brief supporting Muhammad's appeal, his lawyers alleged 102 specific errors in the trial and sentencing, including the inconsistent prosecution theories.
