by TChris

John Allen Muhammad has been sentenced to death for his role in one of ten sniper slayings. Nonetheless, a prosecutor in a different Virginia County wants to try Muhammad for the murder of an FBI agent. Why isn't one death sentence enough? Because the prosecutor -- Robert Horan Jr. -- wants an "insurance policy."

The "insurance" comes at a high price. Virginia spent about $3 million for the first trials of Muhammad and Lee Malvo. While Horan maintains that cost shouldn't deter a prosecutor from racking up death sentences, he may be forced to change his thinking. The Virginia legislature has slashed $5.5 million from local prosectors' budgets in the last two years. Horan may not have the resources to prosecute more mundane crimes if he commits his budget to a death penalty trial for a condemned man.