CHESAPEAKE, Virginia (CNN) -- Attorneys for sniper shootings suspect Lee Boyd Malvo have subpoenaed alleged accomplice John Allen Muhammad in the hopes of proving the influence the older man brainwashed Malvo into participating in last year's deadly Washington, D.C.-area shootings. The attorneys for the 18-year-old Malvo also have subpoenaed Muhammad's ex-wife to show what they allege is a controlling personality by Muhammad. Malvo's attorneys concede, however, that they do not know if Muhammad will cooperate. Malvo is charged with the murder of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a store in Fairfax, Virginia, on October 14, 2002. He could face the death penalty if authorities prove he was responsible for at least two murders in a three- year period. The charge of terrorism could also carry the death penalty if prosecutors show he was responsible for a murder intended to intimidate the public or influence the government. Authorities believe Malvo pulled the trigger in many of the Washington area sniper shootings that left 10 people dead and three others wounded. He and Muhammad are also expected in shootings in several other states. Malvo's trial enters its second day of jury selection Tuesday. Muhammad's trial, 15 miles away in Virginia Beach, has the day off for Veterans Day. Fairfax County Judge Jane Marum Roush, overseeing the Malvo trial, requested and received permission from the government to conduct business Tuesday despite the federal holiday for Veterans Day. The prosecution in Muhammad's trial rested its case Monday, and the defense requested that the case be dismissed, arguing the prosecution had not presented evidence to prove Muhammad pulled the trigger in the sniper shootings or that Malvo was under his control. The defense also argued the prosecution failed to prove the sniper shootings were acts of terrorism. Judge LeRoy Millette, Jr. is expected to rule on that motion Wednesday. Craig Cooley, attorney for Malvo, told reporters the defense would argue Malvo was not guilty by reason of insanity. His official pleas to charges of murder, terrorism, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony were simply "not guilty," because Virginia does not allow for a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Cooley said. Muhammad, 42, was subpoenaed so that attorneys can ask him about his "motivation for the indoctrination of Lee," Cooley said. Indoctrination is the formal term for what many people call brainwashing, Cooley said. "Here is an extreme form of it in which a young man came under the total and complete dominance of the older gentleman," he said. He described Muhammad, a veteran, as "very persuasive, very talented, manipulative -- and we think the evidence will show that."
|
