D.C. Sniper Lee Boyd Malvo Seeks Lower Sentence

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A lawyer for one of the snipers who terrorized the Washington, D.C. area in 2002 has asked a federal appeals court for a chance of a lighter sentence.

It was three weeks of terror that gripped Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. in 2002. Now, sniper Lee Boyd Malvo is 32 and is currently sentenced to life without possibility of parole following the murders of 10 people in sniper attacks in Maryland and Virginia.

The three-week ordeal put the entire area on edge more than 15 years ago.

A woman waiting for a traffic light in 2002 told WJZ, "Everyone is terrified. This has got to stop."

It did, with the arrest of Malvo -- who was 17 at the time -- and his accomplice, John Allen Muhammed. Malvo received four life sentences without possibility for parole, including for his shooting of Linda Franklin in Fairfax, Virginia.

The horror of that murder was revealed in the 911 call between her husband, Ted Frankin, and a police dispatcher.

[Dispatcher: "Your wife is shot?"]

Ted Franklin: "Yes."

[Dispatcher: "Where was she shot?"]

Frankin: "She's shot in the head!"

Since Malvo's conviction and sentencing, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional.

RELATED: Appeals Court To Hear Arguments On D.C. Sniper's Sentence

On Tuesday, Malvo's lawyers asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, for a new sentencing trial. If granted, it offers a chance at parole for Malvo down the road, but is far from guaranteed.

Muhammed was executed in Virginia in 2009.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook