The sniper could face the death penalty in Maryland as well as Virginia, one of the most aggressive states in handing out death sentences and carrying them out.

Prosecutors in Virginia and Maryland have said they would seek the death penalty for the sniper if he was caught. The killer's chances of being executed, however, depend largely on which state's death row he ends up on.

Since capital punishment was reinstated 1976, Virginia has executed 86 people, second only to Texas. By contrast, Maryland, has put three people to death in the same period and has had a moratorium on executions since May.

"Virginia has a reputation as a jurisdiction that will carry out the death penalty, and Maryland has a reputation as a state that has the laws on the books but doesn't put them into action," said Daniel Polsby, a George Mason University law professor and expert on death-penalty issues. "The chances of dying from old age on Maryland's death row are higher than the chance of being executed."

If the 41-year-old man in custody Thursday in connection with the attacks -- John Allen Muhammad -- is charged, Maryland would appear to be first in line to try him, purely because he was arrested there.

Virginia, however, has the most avenues for seeking the death penalty, including a new post-Sept. 11 provision that allows for execution when the killer has "intent to intimidate the civilian population at large."

Maryland suffered the greatest at the sniper's hands. Six people died in Maryland, all in Montgomery County, three died in three Virginia counties and one died in Washington, D.C., which does not have the death penalty.

Montgomery County State's Attorney Doug Gansler said recently that Maryland law allows for the death penalty for multiple murders. "It would be fair to assume that we would have every intention of seeking the death penalty," he said.

If the person described as Muhammad's stepson, 17-year-old John Lee Malvo, is charged and convicted, Maryland law would prohibit his execution because he is under 18. Virginia's minimum death penalty age is 16.

Officials say a federal prosecution is unlikely because it appears there is no federal law that would make the sniper eligible for the death penalty.

In Virginia, Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert has said he wants to seek the death penalty for an Oct. 9 sniper shooting in the Manassas area.

Virginia allows a capital murder prosecution under a provision similar to the one in Maryland. But Ebert said two other provisions in Virginia are more applicable: the new terrorism statute and a provision that allows the death penalty in cases where the defendant has killed more than one person in a three-year period.

"I'd like to try him as soon as we could, but as a general rule the state with possession of the defendant takes jurisdiction first," Ebert said.