D.C. sniper executed in Virginia

JARRATT, Va. | John Allen Muhammad - the mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks that killed 10 people in Virginia, Maryland and the District - was executed by lethal injection Tuesday night in Virginia.

Muhammad was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center just over nine hours after Gov. Tim Kaine announced that he would not intervene.

A reporter for The Washington Times was one of four media witnesses to the execution.

At 8:58 p.m., Muhammad entered the brightly lit death chamber wearing dark-blue jeans, a light-blue, short-sleeved, loose-fitting shirt and sandals. He was clean-shaven, his hair was unruly, and he appeared gaunt. He was shackled and surrounded by corrections officers.

He staggered as the door opened. He looked around the room, mostly at the floor. Dimmed light in the room where the victims’ families sat prevented Muhammad from seeing inside.

He only briefly had an opportunity to look into the room that held the public witnesses and the media representatives. He did not appear to look into the room.

Six officers - five men and a woman wearing corrections uniforms devoid of name tags or rank insignias - strapped him to the table by 9 p.m.

When Muhammad was secured, the officers stepped back and a navy-blue curtain was closed, blocking the prisoner from view of the witnesses.

At 9:06 p.m., the curtain was drawn back, revealing Muhammad strapped in, his hands taped to the gurney and two intravenous tubes - one in each arm, but a curtain concealed what they were attached to. A red and a green wire that prison officials said were attached to a heart monitor wound through Muhammad’s shirt.

“Mr. Muhammad, do you have any last words?” a state official asked.

Two corrections officials quickly stepped forward with recorders to capture anything he had to say.

He said nothing. His eyes were open, and he stared at the ceiling.

At 9:07 p.m., one of the intravenous lines began to twitch rapidly - a movement that appeared to be caused by the first of three lethal drugs flowing through the line.

Muhammad breathed deeply. His chest moved up and down seven times. His foot appeared to wiggle slightly. He blinked in rapid succession. Then he closed his eyes. He did not open them again.

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