Muhammad and Malvo were convicted of six Maryland murders, for which they received life terms. In Virginia, a jury in 2003 sentenced Muhammad to death for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, 53, killed while pumping gas at a Sunoco station in Manassas.

Defense lawyers argued that Muhammad was not mentally competent to stand trial. Courts disagreed.

Muhammad, divorced with five children, spent his final hours meeting with members of his family. He ate a last meal of chicken with red sauce.

His lawyer, Jon Sheldon, said that in the hours before his death Muhammad remained "obsessed in his belief that the government was conspiring against him because of his race."