Free Republic

An attorney for a man convicted of taking part in sniper shootings that left 10 people dead in the Washington area is asking a judge to toss his life sentence because he was convicted as a juvenile. In a motion filed Friday in a Maryland county court, public defender James Johnston argues that Lee Boyd Malvo’s mandatory life sentence is illegal because the U.S. Supreme Court determined such sentences are unconstitutional for juveniles. …

One of the Washington D.C. snipers confessed to killing a man on a Southeast Side golf course four years ago, Tucson police said Friday. The confession from Lee Boyd Malvo on Thursday brings a sense of closure to Jerry Taylor's family, who for many years have believed that Malvo and fellow sniper John Allen Muhammad were behind the slaying on March 19, 2002. Taylor's daughter, Cheryll Witz, said she was ready to forgive Malvo for his crime. "I really do need to forgive him and I do believe he was brainwashed" by Muhammad, Witz said Friday. For several years, Tucson...

Attorney John Fuller has said that anyone who is connected with US sniper John Allen Muhammad will not leave the country. The head of the task force looking into the activities of US Sniper John Allen Muhammad has confirmed that one of Muhammad’s acquaintances in Antigua, Peter John Gianquinto jr. has been arrested in New York by federal authorities. The FBI is investigating connections between Muhummad and Gianquinto. According to an article in the Washington Post, Gianquinto left Antigua on 27 May, 2001, four days before Muhammad and John Lee Mavlo. He is now part of the broader inquiry into...

A man pleaded guilty Thursday to buying a rifle for the Washington, D.C.-area snipers - though not the weapon used in the 2002 random shooting spree. Earl L. Dancy Jr., 36, faces a maximum 10 years in prison at sentencing June 24. He pleaded guilty to making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm. Dancy claimed on a federal form that he intended to use the weapon himself, the U.S. attorney's office said. During the November 2003 trial of sniper John Allen Muhammad, Dancy admitted he bought it for Muhammad. Muhammad, 44, and teen accomplice Lee...