As the Nov. 10 execution date for beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad nears, a Vanderbilt law professor who previously has commented on capital punishment law in news stories is available for interviews.
     
Christopher Slobogin, Milton Underwood Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School, chaired the task force that investigated Florida’s death penalty system, where more than 20 people have been released from death row as a result of court rulings or dismissal of charges.  He can provide insight into the purposes behind the death penalty, the multiple ways in which the system can malfunction, and statistics about its use.  He is not against the death penalty in principle, but has grave doubts about the government’s ability to implement it fairly. Slobogin spoke about Lee Boyd Malvo’s case on the Today show.  Malvo, Muhammad’s teenage accomplice, is serving a life sentence in prison for the killings.

The two went on a three-week killing spree in October 2002 that left 10 people dead in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. They were suspected in killings in other states. Muhammad is slated for execution in the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas gas station.

According to news reports, Muhammad's lawyers have asked the Virginia governor for clemency and planned to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Media Contact: Jennifer Johnston (615) 322-NEWS
Jennifer.johnston@vanderbilt.edu