Thursday, 31 October 2002 |
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US sniper suspect's ex-wife backs death penalty WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The first wife of John Allen Muhammad, one of two suspects in the deaths of 10 people in the Washington sniper spree, said on Tuesday he should be put to death if found guilty. "If he sat in a car and killed innocent people, if they find him guilty for that, then yes," Carol Williams said in an interview on CNN when asked if she would support passing the death penalty on Muhammad if he was convicted. Muhammad, 41, and his 17-year-old traveling companion John Lee Malvo face six murder charges apiece in Maryland, where some of the killings occurred. Muhammad faces additional murder charges in neighboring Virginia and from federal authorities. Williams, who was married to Muhammad for five years in the early 1980s, said Muhammad had introduced Malvo to her as "his son" last summer. "He was always fascinated with guns," she said. "My father is a hunter. (Muhammad) loved to see his guns." Muhammad's son Lindbergh Williams, 20, told CNN he believed his father's service in the military during the Gulf War had played a part in disturbing his mental balance. "I think he just snapped," the son said. "Being in the war, he didn't have any counseling after the war. He just snapped." Muhammad and Malvo were arrested last week in connection with the sniper attacks which began on Oct. 2 and cast a pall of fear over the Washington area for three weeks. |
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