Sniper Muhammad Alleges Mistreatment in Jail: Denied Clothing and Case files
Speaking in a low voice, convicted Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad complained yesterday to the judge who will preside over his next trial that his Northern Virginia jailers give him inadequate access to his voluminous legal files and are not letting him wear underwear to court. "How does it make this courtroom safe with me coming into this courtroom with no T-shirt, no underwear and no socks?" asked Muhammad, who attended a July court hearing barefoot. He implored the judge, "Can you please find out about my underwear?" Muhammad's remarks came at the close of a day-and-a-half-long hearing requested by the defense to address pretrial issues in advance of Muhammad's scheduled Oct. 4 capital murder trial on charges that he killed FBI analyst Linda Franklin during the fall 2002 sniper rampage. [more ]