Idaho dad gets closure after seeing his daughter's killer executed

 

MOUNTAIN HOME -- One week ago a Mountain Home father watched his daughter's killer die.

Marion Lewis opened up to the media Tuesday, perhaps for one final time.

John Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that killed 10 people in the Washington, D.C. area was executed last Tuesday.  He was buried yesterday.

Among the 10 who died was Lori Lewis Rivera of Mountain Home.

We talked with Lori's father Marion Lewis one month before the execution.

When we talked with Lewis last month he was anxious to watch his daughter's killer die.

Now that John Muhammad is dead, Lewis is somber and he doesn't want to waste any more time thinking about him.

"Are you happy you went?" asked NewsChannel 7.

"Yes," Lewis replied. 

"How come?" asked NewsChannel 7.

" Why not?" he said.  "Would you not want to see the person who killed a loved one die?"

 Seven years ago at a Maryland gas station, Lori Lewis Rivera was vacuuming her car when she was shot.

"And he shot her in the back, and she laid there alone and died," Lewis said.

At 25-years-old, Lori lost her life.

Lori was the fifth of Muhammad's 13 victims, 10 of whom died.

Lewis flew to Jarratt, Virginia last week to witness Muhammad's execution.

With several other people, Lewis crammed into a small room with a one-way window to watch Muhammad die.

Going in, Lewis said he was sad.

"Because, having to deal with that man at all, brings back thoughts of our loved ones," Lewis said.

At the most, Lewis waited for 10 minutes before guards escorted Muhammad to the table.

He was seeing his daughter's killer for the first time in person.

"It was, like I said, the whole thing had our loved ones in the forefront of our minds," Lewis said.

Lewis said that Muhammad appeared to be sedated. 

"There was a little bit of fear in his face, and a little bit of disbelief I thought, like it wasn't happening," Lewis said.

Another 10 minutes went by, then the medical technicians injected the lethal cocktail into Muhammad.  He died minutes later.

Lewis describes it as anti-climactic.

"He didn't put on as good a show as we was hoping for. He didn't act as scared of death as what we really, really actually wanted to see. But he died so we were satisfied," Lewis said.

Now, seven years after his daughter's death, Lewis said he has closure.

"I don't share a single for thought for him anymore since he's gone now," Lewis said.

Lewis said as it stands right now, he has no plans to talk about Muhammad again.  He's closing the book on that chapter of his life.

Muhammad's funeral was private and not open to the media.

Several dozen people were reportedly there in Muhammad's hometown of Baton Rouge, La.

His attorney says the execution was not justified because his client suffered from a mental illness.