Sniper To Be Put On Trial Again

Condemned sniper John Allen Muhammad will face a second death-penalty trial in Virginia, according to a newspaper report.

Muhammad could make his first court appearance in the next couple of weeks, The Washington Post reported on its Web site early Wednesday.

Defense attorneys Jonathan Shapiro and Peter D. 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 Home Depot.

The same defense represented Muhammad last year, when he was convicted and sentenced to death in the murder of Dean H. Meyers at a Prince William County gas station.

"The only way to account for this is blood lust," Shapiro said. "We have lots of issues about whether this prosecution is proper in light of the Prince William prosecution. It's going to be a huge fight."

Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. on Tuesday cited the gravity of the shootings as his reason for pushing forward.

"The magnitude of what was done called for a trial," Horan said. "You can't put a value on the human lives that were taken here."

Horan has said a second conviction could serve as "an insurance policy" in case an appeals court overturned the first conviction.

The slayings of Franklin and Meyers were among 10 killings in the Washington area during a three-week period in October 2002.

Conspirator Lee Boyd Malvo, 19, was convicted last year of capital murder in Franklin's slaying and sentenced to life in prison without parole.