Sniper John Allen Muhammad refused to utter any last words as he was executed, taking to the grave answers about why and how he plotted the killings of 10 people that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area for three weeks in October 2002.
The 48-year-old died by injection at 9:11 p.m. Tuesday as relatives of the victims watched from behind glass, separated from the rest of the 27 witnesses at Greensville Correctional Center, south of Richmond.
Muhammad was executed for killing Dean Harold Meyers, who was shot in the head at a Manassas gas station during the spree across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
A spokesman for Greenville Correctional Center says John Allen Muhammad has been executed.
A spokesman for Greenville Correctional Center says the execution of John Allen Muhammad went as planned.
A spokesman for Greenville Correctional Center says John Allen Muhammad did not speak and showed no emotion in the moments leading up to his execution.
AP correspondent Dena Potter describes John Allen Muhammad's last moments.
AP correspondent Dena Potter reports John Allen Muhammad had nothing to say during his execution.
Attorney Jon Sheldon says many emotions have been stirred with the execution of John Allen Muhammad.
Attorney Jon Sheldon says it is a difficult time for the family of John Allen Muhammad.
AP correspondent Dena Potter reports several reporters, and members of the sniper task force and 'citizen witnesses' watched over the execution.
Greenville Correctional Center spokesman Larry Traylor describes John Allen Muhammad's movements in the minutes leading up to his execution.
Attorney Jon Sheldon says it is a difficult time for the family of John Allen Muhammad.
Greenville Correctional Center spokesman Larry Traylor says John Allen Muhammad has been executed.
Attorney Jon Sheldon says many emotions have been stirred with the execution of John Allen Muhammad.
Greenville Correctional Center spokesman Larry Traylor says the execution of John Allen Muhammad went as planned.
AP Correspondent Dena Potter reports John Allen Muhammad had nothing to say during his execution.
AP Correspondent Dena Potter describes John Allen Muhammad's last moments.
AP Correspondent Dena Potter reports several reporters, and members of the sniper task force and 'citizen witnesses' watched over the execution.
Before John Muhammad was executed Tuesday night, his sister-in-law Sheron Norman talked about how Muhammad's son must have felt.
Greenville Correctional Center spokesman Larry Traylor says John Allen Muhammad did not speak and showed no emotion in the moments leading up to his execution.
Milton Perry used to work with sniper victim Conrad Johnson.
He never testified or explained why he masterminded the shootings with the help of a teenage accomplice. That left questions unanswered about why he methodically hunted people going about their daily chores, why he chose his victims, including a middle schooler on his way to class, and how many victims there were.
Muhammad stepped into Virginia's death chamber and within minutes was lying on a gurney, tapping his left foot, his arms spread wide with a needle dug into each.
"Mr. Muhammad, do you have any last words?" the warden asked. Muhammad, looking calm and stoic, said nothing.
Meyers' brother, Bob Meyers, said watching the execution was sobering and "surreal." He said other witnesses expressed a range of feelings, including some who were overcome with emotion.
"I would have liked him at some point in the process to take responsibility, to show remorse," Meyers said. "We didn't get any of that tonight."
After the first of the three-drug lethal cocktail was administered, Muhammad blinked repeatedly and took about seven deep breaths. Within a minute, he was motionless.
Nelson Rivera, whose wife, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, was gunned down as she vacuumed her van at a Maryland gas station, said that when he watched Muhammad's chest moving for the last time, he was glad.
"I feel better. I think I can breathe better," he said. "I'm glad he's gone because he's not going to hurt anyone else."
J. Wyndal Gordon, one of Muhammad's attorneys, described his client in his final hours as fearless and still insisting he was innocent.
"He will die with dignity - dignity to the point of defiance," Gordon said before going inside to watch the execution.
The terror ended on Oct. 24, 2002, when police captured Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo while they slept at a Maryland rest stop in a car they had outfitted for a shooter to perch in its trunk without being detected.
Malvo, who was 17 when carrying out the attacks, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing Linda Franklin, a 47-year-old FBI analyst who was shot as she and her husband loaded supplies at a Home Depot in Falls Church, Va.
The men also were suspected of fatal shootings in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Muhammad's final appeal Monday, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine denied clemency Tuesday.
Muhammad's attorneys had asked Kaine to commute his sentence to life in prison because they said Muhammad was severely mentally ill.
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