**The man behind the 2002 sniper attacks in and around Washington DC will be put to death later, after the US Supreme Court rejected a stay of execution.**John Allen Muhammad is due to be executed on Tuesday for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, one of 10 people killed during the attacks.
The court gave no reason for Monday’s rejection of the appeal.
Only a final appeal for clemency to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine can save Muhammad, 48, from lethal injection.
Muhammad’s accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is serving a life sentence in jail.
“A psychiatrist examined him and said he’s paranoid and psychotic and delusional”
Jonathan Sheldon
Lawyer
The pair killed 10 people during three weeks of attacks in Maryland, Washington and Virginia.
Muhammad is due to be put to death at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.
But his legal team has criticised the ruling, saying ex-soldier Muhammad is mentally ill and suffered from Gulf War Syndrome.
Lawyer Jonathan Sheldon told the BBC’s World Today: “A psychiatrist examined him and said he’s paranoid and psychotic and delusional and gave many examples.”
Mr Sheldon also said brain scans of Muhammad had revealed malformations linked to schizophrenia.
FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE
The shootings left the Washington area gripped by fear, with victims attacked while shopping, outside schools, or just sitting and reading.
Mr Meyers was shot at a petrol station in Manassas, Virginia.
A skilled marksman, Muhammad picked off his targets using a sniper rifle, always with a single round and from a distance.
After three weeks, he was arrested at a truck stop, along with Malvo.
Prosecutors say Muhammad has never shown remorse.
In addition to the 10 people they killed around the Washington area, the pair are suspected of murders in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona.
Cheryll Witz is one of several victims’ relatives who are going to watch Muhammad’s execution.
Malvo said he shot her father, Jerry Taylor - at Muhammad’s direction - on an Arizona golf course in March 2002.
“He basically watched my dad breathe his last breath,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“Why shouldn’t I watch his last breath”
HOW MUHAMMAD AND MALVO MURDERED THEIR VICTIMS
- Killers targeted shopping malls, schools and petrol stations
- Modified blue Chevrolet Caprice used as cover and firing point
- Pair used high-powered sniper rifle and scope
- Victims were killed by single shot fired from distance
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