The ex-wife and son of alleged sniper John Allen Muhammad both have stated that he should receive the death penalty if found guilty. I don’t know what else they said, but the quotes from the Reuters article are pretty amazing:
“If he sat in a car and killed innocent people, if they find him guilty for that, then yes.” -wife
“Even though he is my father, in my eyes, you reap what you sow. If you were man to enough to do it, you are man enough to pay the consequences.” -son
Reporters seem to ask a lot of these kinds of questions, and close family members are almost always let their emotional ties blind them to the logic of the situation. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the time, loyalty to close family members is an admirable trait. Even in the worst cases, where such blind loyalty is unwarranted, it’s still very understandable. Still, it’s impressive when people put their principles first.