A jury yesterday rejected the death penalty for sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, sentencing him instead to life in prison without parole for a spree of random attacks that killed 10 people in the Washington D.C. area last year. We hear from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

A jury yesterday rejected the death penalty for sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, sentencing him instead to life in prison without parole for a spree of random attacks that killed 10 people in the Washington D.C. area last year.

Defense lawyers argued that in deciding the sentence Malvo’s youth should be taken into account. He was just 17 at the time of the shootings. Prosecutor Robert Horan said Malvo, “is very lucky that he looks a lot younger than he is.”

Malvo was found guilty last week of capital murder and terrorism, after he and his accomplice John Allen Muhammad demanded 10 million dollars from the US Government to stop the killings.

Both Malvo and Muhammad could still face trial over other shootings in Virginia and other states. If convicted, Malvo could still face the death penalty.

• David Elliot, communications director with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.