The trial of the man charged with last year’s sniper shootings in the Washington area was thrown into turmoil yesterday when the accused began conducting his own defence.
With his life in the balance, John Allen Muhammad (42) delivered a rambling opening statement, with reflections on the meaning of truth and how he once wrongly accused his daughter of raiding a biscuit jar.
The decision to defend himself — approved by the presiding judge after a five-minute courtroom conversation — puts Muhammad’s life in peril.
The US attorney general, John Ashcroft, ordered the trial to take place in Virginia, which has carried out the highest number of executions of any state after Texas, and legal experts predicted yesterday that the defendant’s decision would threaten his chance of an acquittal.
Muhammad, a Gulf war veteran who prides himself on his ability to maintain outward control, appeared reasonably calm as he launched his defence. However, he was reluctant at first to directly address the fact that he stood accused of murder.
”One of the things we’re here for today is to find out what everyone wants to know. What happened?” he said. ”There’s three truths. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I always thought there was just one truth.”
Muhammad’s decision to conduct his own defence confounded the courtroom. Only a week ago, he had assured the presiding judge, LeRoy Millette Jr, that he was satisfied with his counsel. But moments after arriving at the courtroom yesterday, the accused said he wanted to defend himself.
The judge acquiesced after a conversation in which the defendant was questioned about his education and advised that he was making a mistake.
Muhammad’s opening remarks did little to dispel that impression. They included a homily about how he once suspected his daughter of helping herself to biscuits against his wishes. Such folksy stories hardly measure up to the gravity of the charges: two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and firearms charges arising from the death last year of Dean Meyers.
Meyers was the seventh victim in a three-week rampage last October in which 10 people were killed and three were wounded going about their daily lives. Meyers, who survived serious wounds during the Vietnam war, was shot in the head while filling up his car at a petrol station in Virginia. Muhammad is the elder of two men accused of the killings.
The other, Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, is to be tried separately. However, he has been ordered to appear in court at Muhammad’s trial.
The killings caused panic and outrage throughout the northern parts of Virginia and Maryland, sentiments that convinced the two defence teams that there was little hope of assembling a neutral jury near the scene of the shootings.
Judge Millette concurred, moving the trial 320 kilometres south to Virginia Beach, a resort town that is also home to a sizeable population of US military personnel.
Yesterday’s decision brings a radical demotion for Muhammad’s lawyers. After guiding his defence for more than a year, they were reduced to the status of advisers. ”His attorneys are now what is known as standby counsel,” Judge Millette told the jury.
It was not immediately clear why Muhammad chose to lead his defence, or why the judge agreed — especially in such a high profile case.
Legal experts said yesterday that it was unusual for a judge to agree so quickly, especially when the accused faces the death penalty.
However, despite the unusual twist of events there was no delay in the proceedings.
Moments after Muhammad was given charge of his defence, the assistant prosecutor, James Willett, began his opening arguments by silently assembling a Bushmaster rifle, and showing photographs of the car used in the killings.
The prosecution claims the rifle is the one used to shoot all 13 people last year. Such ballistic evidence and the hole drilled in the boot of the car, which turned it into a sniper’s hide, remain the prosecution’s strongest suit.
”There will be no eyewitness testimony in any of these shootings,” said Willett. ”That is how clever he is.” – Guardian Unlimited Â