Sacramento Man To Watch Muhammad's Execution
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 | Updated 11:30 AM PST
RICHMOND, Va. -- A Sacramento-area man whose wife was shot to death during a 2002 killing spree in the Washington, D.C., area said Tuesday he was ready to witness her killer's execution.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on Tuesday denied clemency Tuesday for John Allen Muhammad, clearing the way for him to be put to death for the attacks that left 10 people dead and terrorized the nation's capital region for three weeks.
Nelson Rivera's 25-year-old wife, Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, was slain as she vacuumed a van at a gas station in Kensington, Md. He traved to Virginia to watch Muhammad's death by lethal injection.
"It's something I just really want to see," said Rivera, who has since remarried.
"Finally, the day is here, and I want to be there so I can represent my wife," he added.
Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, also were suspected of fatal shootings in other states, including Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona.
The motive for the shootings remains murky. Malvo said Muhammad wanted to use the plot to extort $10 million from the government to set up a camp in Canada where homeless children would be trained as terrorists. But Muhammad's ex-wife has said she believes the attacks were a smoke screen for his plan to kill her and regain custody of their three children.
This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.
Posted Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 - 11:15 AM PST
