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Prosecutors debate where sniper case will be tried
By Kevin Drew
(CNN) -- Prosecutors from local and federal jurisdictions will meet Friday to sort out where the two suspects in the D.C.-area sniper killings will face charges. Prosecutors from Maryland, Virginia and the federal government were scheduled to meet in Rockville, Maryland, to discuss which agency would prosecute John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. The D.C.-area sniper shootings claimed the lives of 10 people during a three-week period this month. As of Thursday night, no charges related to the sniper attacks had been filed. Muhammad, 41, was being held without bail under federal firearms charges while Malvo, 17, was being held as a material witness. The legal tussle expanded Friday as Montgomery, Alabama, Police Chief John Wilson announced that his state would pursue the death penalty for capital murder charges in connection with a September 21 killing. "This is not what we expect in a civilized society," Wilson said. "We're going to make an example out of somebody." Authorities in the D.C. area gave no indication when they would announce a decision about jurisdiction, or when indictments would be brought against Muhammad and Malvo. A 30-day clock began Thursday morning for prosecutors to bring charges against the pair. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said prosecutors might eventually release a "speaking" indictment, one that outlines how they believe the shootings were carried out, or they may wait until trial to outline the roles they believe Muhammad and Malvo played. The sniper shootings crossed into seven jurisdictions in the D.C. area: the District of Columbia, and Montgomery, Prince George's, Fairfax, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Hanover counties. All jurisdictions will likely be able to pursue their own charges in separate trials, but it is the first trial that will grab the most attention. Death penalty may be factorThe debate between prosecutors could focus on which jurisdiction has the best case and which jurisdiction can best carry out a prosecution seeking the death penalty. Montgomery County, Maryland, site of six of the 13 attacks, may be considered the starting point for prosecution. The site of the first five and final slayings may have the best case based on evidence, Toobin said. While Alabama police have said they will seek the death penalty, the moratorium on executions in Maryland imposed by Gov. Parris Glendening may work against that state's prosecutors, Toobin said. Prosecutors in Virginia, site of five sniper shootings, may push to take the lead in the overall prosecution by highlighting their experience with death penalty prosecutions. Virginia has executed 86 convicts since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, the second-highest number among all states. Alabama has executed 24 and Maryland has executed three since 1976. Using the death penalty as a factor to try the cases may be shortsighted, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "It's a mistake to look at the death penalty as a reason to prosecute someone," Dieter said. A Columbia University survey showed 68 percent of all death penalty sentences are overturned in the United States, Dieter said, resulting in new trials. "The important thing is to obtain a conviction, not get an execution. A sentence of life without parole may actually bring closure to all parties, rather than having to face a new trial." Other questions remained to be answered. Malvo's status as a juvenile may complicate discussions between prosecutors; Virginia and Alabama execute juveniles, Maryland does not. Virginia prosecutors face the question of how to try five shootings that took place in four counties in that state, which would require at least four cases in different courts. Federal officials, meanwhile, also were considering charges that would allow them to bring a capital case. A note left last weekend in Virginia by the sniper that demanded money raised the possibility of federal charges of extortion. But Toobin said how federal prosecutors would argue to try the case – there is no federal murder law – remained to be seen. "It's not clear to me what federal law has been violated," Toobin said. "I don't think this case can be carried out in a federal court."
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