Malvo the malevolent
Lee Boyd Malvo wants out of prison.
17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo and 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad shot and killed 10 people and critically wounded another three in a spree of sniper shootings around Washington, D.C., in 2002.
Malvo later admitted that the pair killed individuals in Los Angeles, California; Denton, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Montgomery, Alabama; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Tucson, Arizona. They also shot but did not kill individuals in Montgomery, Alabama; Clearwater, Florida, and Hammond, Louisiana. Those eight shootings also occurred in 2002.
Muhammad was executed by the state of Virginia in 2009.
Malvo was senteced to four life terms without possibility of parole in Virginia, and six life terms without possiblity of parole in Maryland.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held it was cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to life without possiblity of parole unless the judge openly addresses whether the crime was the result of "unfortunate yet transient immaturity". A judge may constitutionally impose life without parole if the defendant is found to be a "juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption."
Malvo sought to be resentenced under the 2012 ruling.
Virginia just passed legislation allowing juveniles previously sentenced to life without parole the opportunity to seek parole. Malvo has signed an agreement with the state to drop his case, in return for which the state will deem him eligible for parole as early as 2022.
Even if Virginia paroled him, he would then have to begin serving six life sentences in Maryland.
At trial in 2003, psychiatrists deemed Malvo to be a psychopath. He had a long history of antisocial and criminal behavior, including torturing small animals and extended fantasies about killing large numbers of people. He left Tarot cards and other written documents at the sites of the D.C. area sniper killings, telling police "Call me God" and making erratic statements an fantasies about extorting tens of millions and killing hundreds of children if his demands were not met.
Malvo claimed that violent video games were responsible for his actions. Prosecutors scoffed at this, pointing out that he'd spent hours at a gun range shooting paper plates and calling them "people's heads".
While in prison, Malvo wrote a number of diatribes declaring he was engaged in "jihad" against the United States. The point of his crusade was not made clear, however. Many of his writings included drawings of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and characters from The Matrix film series.
He underwent extensive counseling in prison between 2003 and 2006.
In 2006, Malvo recanted his 2003 testimony in which he had claimed to be the shooter in every case. He admitted to being the shooter in two deaths and one wounding. He said he'd claimed responsiblity for everything in an attempt to save Muhammad from a death penalty. Authorities say it is unclear whether Malvo was telling truth in 2003 or 2006.
Malvo spoke to the family of murder victim Jerry Taylor and apologized in 2007, and wrote an apology to wounding victim John C. Gaeta in 2010.
Malvo has not apologized to the family of murder victim Keenya Nicole Cook.
Malvo gave a lengthy interview to The Washington Post in September 2012 in which he blamed Muhammad for controlling him and turning him into a monster. The same year, he told NBC's Matt Lauer that Muhammad had also sexually abused him.
No one knows if Malvo is still a psychopath or not, or how truly remorseful he is.