May 30, 2006
ROCKVILLE—
A Maryland jury was expected to begin deliberations today in John Allen Muhammad's second sniper trial, after jurors saw four weeks of evidence against him and heard Muhammad's claims that he was framed.

In closing statements Friday, prosecutors said Muhammad carefully planned and carried out the October 2002 shootings with accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo. And they pointed to Malvo's testimony last week, in which he implicated his former mentor in the shootings.

But in his own closing, which lasted more than three hours, Muhammad claimed government agencies collaborated to pin the crime on him and Malvo.

"My case is based on one thing. It is very simple. They lied on two innocent men," he said Friday.

As jurors deliberate, Muhammad's conspiracy theory - for which he offered little proof and no motive - will be matched against the four weeks of testimony and evidence presented by prosecutors.

[Associated Press]