[1] At Muhammad's trial, the prosecution claimed that the attacks were part of a plot to kill his ex-wife and regain custody of his children, but the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support this argument.
Upon completion of the trial activity in Maryland, he was returned to Virginia pending an agreement with another state or the District of Columbia seeking to try him.
[3] Muhammad was executed by lethal injection on November 10, 2009, at 9:06 p.m. EST at the Greensville Correctional Center near Jarratt, Virginia, and was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m.
[8] After his arrest, authorities also claimed that Muhammad admitted that he admired and modeled himself after Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and approved of the September 11 attacks.
Malvo testified that Muhammad had indoctrinated him into believing that the proceeds of an extortion attempt would be used to establish "a camp in Canada where homeless children would be trained as terrorists.
Investigators responding to that crime scene found one of the suspects had dropped a magazine with his fingerprints on it; these were subsequently identified as belonging to Malvo, whose prints were on file with the INS and who was known to associate with Muhammad.
[18] Muhammad's identification led to the discovery that he had purchased a former police car, a blue Chevrolet Caprice, in New Jersey on September 11, 2002.
[26] The prosecution called more than 130 witnesses and introduced more than 400 pieces of evidence intended to prove that Muhammad undertook the murders and ordered Malvo to help carry them out.
In the penalty phase of the trial, the jury, after five hours of deliberation over two days, unanimously recommended that Muhammad be sentenced to death.
On March 9, 2004, a Virginia judge agreed with the jury's recommendation and sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death.
Virginia Supreme Court Justice Donald W. Lemons said at the time, "With calculation, extensive planning, premeditation and ruthless disregard for life, Muhammad carried out his cruel scheme of terror.
Neither Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana nor Washington (state) moved to try Muhammad, given his death sentence for murder in Virginia.
[32][33] On May 6, 2008, it was revealed that Muhammad asked prosecutors in a letter to help him end legal appeals of his conviction and death sentence "so that you can murder this innocent black man."
[34] On September 16, 2009, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Mary Grace O'Brien set Muhammad's execution date for November 10, 2009.
[37][38] Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, wrote a separate opinion stating that Virginia's rush to set an execution date "highlights once again the perversity of executing inmates before their appeals process has been fully concluded"[39] while noting that they concurred with the decision that the appeal ought not be heard.
Although Malvo and Muhammad were each believed to be indigent, co-defendants Bull's Eye Shooter Supply and Bushmaster Firearms, Inc. contributed to a landmark $2.5 million out-of-court settlement in late 2004.
[42] Part of his testimony concerned Muhammad's complete plan with three phases in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.
[43] Malvo described how phase one did not go as planned due to heavy traffic and the lack of a clear shot or getaway routes.
The money would be used to pay for travel to Canada, stopping en route at YMCAs and orphanages to recruit impressionable young boys with no parents or guidance.
On November 10, 2009, hours before Muhammad's scheduled execution, pleas for clemency made by his attorneys were denied by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.
[44][45] Under Virginia law at the time, a defendant convicted of capital murder was allowed to choose the method by which he or she will be put to death—either lethal injection or electrocution.