Gansler On Muhammad: 'World Will Be A Better Place Without Him'

BALTIMORE - WBALTV.com

For many people who went through the terror of the D.C. sniper attacks, Tuesday's execution of John Allen Muhammad will bring things back full circle.

From the prosecution side, no one knows that more than former Montgomery County State's Attorney Doug Gansler, who led a task force that helped convict Muhammad of six slayings in Maryland.

"People remember this vividly in Montgomery County and around the area as a time they never want to relive, but a time that stands out in their minds," Gansler told 11 News reporter Lowell Melser.

Gansler recalled the moments in October 2002 when someone fired a shot through a store in Aspen Hill, hitting no one. About an hour later, 55-year-old James Martin was shot and killed at a Shoppers Food warehouse parking lot in Glenmont.

"The next morning was when the barrage of shootings, the four shootings in two-hour, 12-minute period, we knew something was up," Gansler said.

As the case picked up steam, Gansler took charge of a legal team for the 1,400-member Sniper Joint Task Force. Gansler recalled the first meeting and the intense conversations that occurred.

"Does anyone have any idea who might be able to do this," Gansler used as an example of the questions being asked. "Did anyone have a case this week like a nasty domestic case or somebody lost their job or somebody go crazy in court and make threats, because we were trying to figure out who was committing these crimes."

A 22-day manhunt for Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo ended with the two being captured at a Frederick rest area, where they were sleeping.

That's when the real work began for Gansler and his legal team, as he originally fought to have the cases tried in Maryland, before deciding there was a better chance of getting the death penalty for the suspects in Virginia.

"The Virginia families got their day in court, Muhammad will be executed," Gansler said. "That would not have happened in Maryland. He would have ultimately not been executed in Maryland, because of our court of appeals, because of our laws."

Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia, then was tried in Maryland and received six life sentences. Malvo agreed to testify against him.

Gansler said he feels most for the victim's families.

"These people said goodbye, they're going out to get gas, they're having a cup of coffee and they get shot, for no reason, by somebody they don't know," he said.

He added that he has no regrets about the death penalty sentence.

"I believe there are certain people who commit certain crimes, where in they've just forfeited their right to live on our planet. John Allen Muhammad is one of those people," he said.

"The world will be a better place without him."

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