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Would you watch the execution of someone that killed your family member?

RICHMOND, Va. – Some ache for revenge, others simply for justice. There is frustration, too, and defiance.

For those wounded by the D.C. snipers and for the relatives of those killed, the emotions leading up to the execution of the mastermind behind the 2002 attacks vary as widely as those who found themselves in the cross hairs.

John Allen Muhammad, 48, is set to die by injection in a Virginia prison Nov. 10, seven years after he and his teenage accomplice terrorized the area in and around the nation's capital for three weeks.

Some family members can't wait to see Muhammad take his final breath. Others plan to make the trip to Virginia but never step foot on prison grounds.

And there are those who plan to spend the night at home with their families, satisfied that Muhammad is paying for what he's done but indifferent as to how it will happen.

Asked at 9:46 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:

sweet-a-kins

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Answers (62)
Answered at 9:46 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- sweet-a-kins
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_re_us/us_sniper_execution_witnesses;_ylt=AkA1yrH8vKqjk0nLgS6Uk3JxieAA;_ylu=X3oDMTMwMjBqcjRsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTA1L3VzX3NuaXBlcl9leGVjdXRpb25fd2l0bmVzc2VzBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3ZpY3RpbXNyZWxhdA--
Answered at 9:49 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by: Anonymous

Yes I'd watch...I'd want to flip the switch myself
Answered at 9:49 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by: Anonymous

Good Question! But I would hope never have to witness an execution.
I would think that the families of the victims would want closure this being the reason for them to witness the execution.
Answered at 9:59 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- AdensMommy1107
I dont think I would. I think I would just stay home with my family and be grateful for who I still have. But then again, maybe I would want closure. However I cant really give an answer because Ive never been in that situation, and God Forbid, I ever do, my feelings might change.
Answered at 10:00 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by: Anonymous

yes, i would need to watch it for closure. I would be in the front row, with a grin on my face, and right before the they flipped the switch, i'd flip off the person, seriously. It would give me the opportuntiy to "release' my anger and hatred in those walls, and walk out leaving that anger behind me.
Answered at 10:00 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- sailorwifenmom
I don't really know. I lived in the DC area when this was going on. The school where the boy was shot was just a couple of miles from a friend of mine's house. I think he's getting what he deserves.

If it had been my loved one, on the one hand, I don't think I would want to be there, because I would want to probably go spend that time at the grave of my loved one, probably with some other loved ones, having our own private vigil, sort of "with" the person who he killed. On the other hand, I think I would want to be able to look him in the eyes and get that closure. But, then again, I don't know that I would want to witness something like that, and give him that much more space in my head, having that experience of seeing an execution burned in my mind, than he already had, being my loved one's killer.

I honestly don't know - but I think it would be a hard choice either way. :-(
Answered at 10:06 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- mamakirs
I think I would. Hard to say until you are actually facing that but as of right now, I would watch.
Answered at 10:06 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- sweet-a-kins
I honestly don't know - but I think it would be a hard choice either way. :-(

me too!
Answered at 10:13 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by: Anonymous

I don't think I could. I'd be happy to know he was dead, but it's very hard for me to watch someone die.
Answered at 10:16 AM on Nov. 5, 2009 by:
- mamie2shoes
I wouldn't.