Muhammad Gets 6 Life Terms in Md.

"I was his big sister, but I wasn't there to protect him," Martin-Border said. "I would have taken that bullet myself. Gladly. But I wasn't there. I couldn't be there for him. And I couldn't even be there to comfort him."

Their voices, at intervals soft and thunderous, brought tears to the eyes of spectators in the courtroom, some intimately affected by the case.

Outside, State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, flanked by relatives of sniper victims, faced a wall of cameras to hail the sentence.

"Anyone who suggested that this trial shouldn't be brought to Montgomery County should be ashamed," he said of people who questioned the need for another trial after Muhammad had been convicted of murder in Virginia.

His deputy, Katherine Winfree, who prosecuted the case, said that although the county is no stranger to violent crimes, Muhammad is in a league of his own.

"No one has ever stood before a judge in this county with more on his conscience and more crimes to his discredit than John Allen Muhammad," Winfree said.

The trial prosecutors and a small group of sniper task force members left the courtroom sporting weary smiles. Some hugged victims' relatives, revealing bonds forged during the investigation and three trials.

"Yes, it brought them some closure," said Sgt. Roger Thomson, a Montgomery homicide investigator who played a key role in the investigation. "And, yes, it brought some closure to Montgomery County. Justice was done, and I can't wait to get them out of the state. This man -- he can't even look at these people in the face. The only thing you see in his eyes is hate."

Muhammad, 45, has been convicted in seven of the 10 October 2002 sniper slayings and is on death row in Virginia. Malvo, 21, who has been convicted of one killing in Virginia, has agreed to plead guilty to the six Maryland slayings. He is expected to return to Virginia to serve a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Muhammad and Malvo could be prosecuted in other states, including Louisiana and Alabama, where they allegedly shot people.

As Ryan announced the sentence, Muhammad began scribbling on a notepad. Gordon later said he was drafting an appeal to the sentence.

"Mr. Muhammad, on behalf of all the people in this community, I order the sheriffs to take you into their custody, remove you from this courtroom, from this county and from this state," Ryan said. "Sheriff, take this man into your custody."

As he was escorted out in handcuffs, a short but hearty round of applause spread through the room.

Before suppertime, Muhammad had been transferred to the Sussex 1 State Prison in Waverly, Va., home to all death row inmates in that state.