Teen Sniper Malvo Could Get Death

The jury that convicted teenage sniper Lee Boyd Malvo of capital murder for his role in last year's killing spree now must also decide whether to recommend he die for his crimes.

Court resumes Friday morning for the sentencing phase, and CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports it will be a sort of mini-trial in itself, with testimony from witnesses as to why Malvo should or should not be sentenced to death.

He was convicted Thursday of two counts of capital murder for the Oct. 14, 2002, killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, one of 10 people killed by Malvo and partner John Allen Muhammad during a three-week span in the nation's capital region.

Malvo's lawyers had presented an insanity defense, claiming that Muhammad had brainwashed the 18-year-old so thoroughly that the teen came to believe his father figure was chosen by Allah to begin a new Utopian society in Canada.

"Prosecutors are going to talk about the primary victim, Linda Franklin, and the impact her murder had on her family," says CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen. "They'll also remind jurors of the way Malvo laughed when he described the shootings."

Many of the witnesses who testified during the guilt phase of the trial about Malvo's behavior as a child and teenager will also be called during the sentencing phase. It is expected that many will talk about Malvo's difficult upbringing, in which his mother beat him and moved him from home to home, all while he searched for a father figure.

"The whole defense has been predicated on the notion that Malvo deserves sympathy because of his age, his childhood, and the way the older sniper, John Muhammad treated him," says Cohen. "If that sympathy is to have any impact on the case it will have impact on the penalty phase and it just could spare Malvo's life."

Prosecutors complained frequently during the trial that the insanity defense was simply a red herring that allowed the defense to present sympathetic testimony for their client that would normally not be allowed in the guilt phase of a trial.

"If you thought prosecutors were tough on Malvo up to now, wait until they start in on him during the penalty phase, when he no longer has the presumption of innocence," says Cohen.

The jury's choices are death, or life in prison without parole, reports CBS News Correspondent Barry Bagnato.

Malvo, whose expressions had often been animated throughout the trial, leaned on his elbows at the table with a blank look on his face while the verdict was read. The jury had deliberated for 13 hours over two days.

Family members of the sniper victims patted each other on the shoulders as the verdict was read, while Franklin's daughter, Katrina Hannum, cried.

Bob Meyers, whose brother was gunned down during the attacks, said he was pleased with the verdict. Muhammad, 42, was convicted of identical charges for killing Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas gas station.

"We believe that justice has been served," Meyers said outside the court.

Prosecutors portrayed Malvo as a gleeful and eager triggerman in the October 2002 killing spree, saying he fired shots from the trunk of a beat-up Chevy while Muhammad plotted the attacks. Ten people were killed and three were wounded during the spree — most them as they went about their daily routines.

Authorities say the killings were part of an attempt to extort $10 million from the government. Malvo and Muhammad were the first two people tried under Virginia's post-Sept. 11 terrorism law.

Malvo was sent to face trial in Virginia on Nov. 7 of last year when he was 17. Attorney General John Ashcroft said he wanted Malvo to be tried in Virginia because of its reputation for imposing the death penalty.

Virginia is one of 21 states that allow the execution of 16- and 17-year-olds. The state is one of only six that have actually executed a juvenile since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

If the Malvo jury recommends death, Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush will have the option to reduce the sentence to life in prison. If the jury decides for life in prison, its decision cannot be changed.

"I cannot imagine the judge wants these jurors working on a death penalty case right before Christmas," says Cohen, "so don't be surprised if things move very quickly from here on in."

Muhammad has been convicted of identical charges and a jury has already recommended a death sentence. He will be sentenced officially in February.