The Justice Department arranged to have the two men tried first in Virginia – rather than in Maryland or the District of Columbia, where the other shootings occurred – largely because death sentences could be obtained more easily against both there. A Virginia law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks makes a death sentence possible for those convicted of ordering terrorist killings, even if they did not actually commit them. That law is untested, however, and if Mr. Muhammad is convicted solely under it, any death sentence is likely to face a wide range of appeals.Well, then, it will be up to 12 good Virginia citizens to do the right thing....But to obtain a conviction under Virginia's traditional capital murder law, which requires proof that the defendant pulled the trigger, prosecutors in Manassas would have to show that Mr. Muhammad fired the sole shot that killed Mr. Meyers, even though the only evidence points to Mr. Malvo.