Airwolf
Member
From the "give me a 
break" department...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/12/n...00&en=52d047faab1d27a1&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Lawyers for Sniper Suspect Raise Issue of Chemical Exposure
By JAYSON BLAIR
Lawyers for a defendant in the Washington-area sniper attacks told a judge yesterday that their client might have been exposed to nerve gas or other chemical agents while serving in the first gulf war.
In a hearing in Prince William County, Va., Circuit Court, lawyers for the man, John Muhammad, 42, said the chemicals might have affected Mr. Muhammad's mental health.
"It's not wild conjecture," said Jonathan Shapiro, one of the lawyers. Mr. Shapiro added that "there's a whole lot about this man we need to investigate thoroughly."
Mr. Shapiro mentioned the exposure at a hearing in which he successfully argued for the appointment of a mitigation expert, who will look for evidence that might make Mr. Muhammad seem more sympathetic if his trial proceeds to sentencing.
Mr. Shapiro said his client was an Army engineer in the 1991 war. Persian Gulf war veterans who served with Mr. Muhammad said they believed he once threw a grenade into a tent full of fellow soldiers. None of the soldiers were killed, and the grenade-throwing incident could never be officially tied to Mr. Muhammad.
Prince William law enforcement officials said yesterday that Mr. Muhammad's former wife, Mildred, had told them that she noticed strange changes in his behavior after he returned from the war, and she told investigators that he had said that after the grenade incident, fellow soldiers tied him down and would not allow him to reach for his gas mask during a suspected chemical attack.
Also yesterday, defense lawyers for Lee Malvo, the teenager charged with Mr. Muhammad in the attacks in which 10 people were killed, filed a motion challenging his interrogation by police in Fairfax County, Va.
The motion cited Mr. Malvo's right to counsel and right not to incriminate himself.
Defense lawyers filed an exhibit list that included orders filed at courts in Baltimore and Fairfax appointing defense lawyers and guardians, and a letter from one lawyer requesting that Mr. Malvo not be questioned without a lawyer.
Prosecutors said Mr. Malvo, who has turned 18 since he and Mr. Muhammad were arrested on Oct. 24, agreed to answer questions during a six-hour interrogation in Fairfax. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Malvo admitted during that interview that he fired the rifle in many of the October sniper shootings.
Mr. Malvo indicated that he had been promised a chance to see a lawyer, his defense team said.
His lawyers argue that investigators violated his rights when they continued to question him. They also say it was unlawful for the police to question Mr. Malvo, a juvenile at the time, without a lawyer or guardian present. Mr. Malvo's court-appointed guardian, Todd G. Petit, tried to halt the questioning, but was rebuffed by both the police and prosecutors.
break" department...http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/12/n...00&en=52d047faab1d27a1&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Lawyers for Sniper Suspect Raise Issue of Chemical Exposure
By JAYSON BLAIR
Lawyers for a defendant in the Washington-area sniper attacks told a judge yesterday that their client might have been exposed to nerve gas or other chemical agents while serving in the first gulf war.
In a hearing in Prince William County, Va., Circuit Court, lawyers for the man, John Muhammad, 42, said the chemicals might have affected Mr. Muhammad's mental health.
"It's not wild conjecture," said Jonathan Shapiro, one of the lawyers. Mr. Shapiro added that "there's a whole lot about this man we need to investigate thoroughly."
Mr. Shapiro mentioned the exposure at a hearing in which he successfully argued for the appointment of a mitigation expert, who will look for evidence that might make Mr. Muhammad seem more sympathetic if his trial proceeds to sentencing.
Mr. Shapiro said his client was an Army engineer in the 1991 war. Persian Gulf war veterans who served with Mr. Muhammad said they believed he once threw a grenade into a tent full of fellow soldiers. None of the soldiers were killed, and the grenade-throwing incident could never be officially tied to Mr. Muhammad.
Prince William law enforcement officials said yesterday that Mr. Muhammad's former wife, Mildred, had told them that she noticed strange changes in his behavior after he returned from the war, and she told investigators that he had said that after the grenade incident, fellow soldiers tied him down and would not allow him to reach for his gas mask during a suspected chemical attack.
Also yesterday, defense lawyers for Lee Malvo, the teenager charged with Mr. Muhammad in the attacks in which 10 people were killed, filed a motion challenging his interrogation by police in Fairfax County, Va.
The motion cited Mr. Malvo's right to counsel and right not to incriminate himself.
Defense lawyers filed an exhibit list that included orders filed at courts in Baltimore and Fairfax appointing defense lawyers and guardians, and a letter from one lawyer requesting that Mr. Malvo not be questioned without a lawyer.
Prosecutors said Mr. Malvo, who has turned 18 since he and Mr. Muhammad were arrested on Oct. 24, agreed to answer questions during a six-hour interrogation in Fairfax. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Malvo admitted during that interview that he fired the rifle in many of the October sniper shootings.
Mr. Malvo indicated that he had been promised a chance to see a lawyer, his defense team said.
His lawyers argue that investigators violated his rights when they continued to question him. They also say it was unlawful for the police to question Mr. Malvo, a juvenile at the time, without a lawyer or guardian present. Mr. Malvo's court-appointed guardian, Todd G. Petit, tried to halt the questioning, but was rebuffed by both the police and prosecutors.
