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| Jury selection begins in soldier murder trial | |
| 2011-07-19 | |
| Jury selection has started in the trial of a radical Muslim who admitted shooting up an Army recruiting center in Little Rock, killing a soldier. By mid-afternoon, six jurors had been seated, while five of the 100 prospective jurors were excused from the panel. The selection process got under way after the defendant, Abdulhakim Mujah Muhammad, was not allowed to fire his attorneys and represent himself. Circuit Judge Herbert Wright said, "I do not believe he's competent to represent himself." Muhammad has sent several letters to the media "attempting to disrupt this court's proceedings," the judge noted. Defense attorney Patrick Benca said he would claim his client, who rocked in his chair during the questioning of prospective jurors, was innocent by reason of mental disease or defect. Muhammad, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, admitted to the shooting that killed Pvt. William Long and injured Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula. He is charged with first-degree murder in Long's death. If convicted, he could become the first person in the US since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to receive the death sentence for an act of terrorism. Muhammad's father said his son was radicalized by Muslims while attending Tennessee State University in Nashville. "Something is wrong with the Muslim leadership in Nashville," he said. "What happened to Carlos at those Nashville mosques isn't normal." Islamic leaders in Nashville denied the allegations of brainwashing. Muhammad reportedly underwent terrorist training in Yemen in 2007, causing some to wonder why the federal government isn't prosecuting him. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University said, "You certainly have the jurisdiction to try it in federal court." He said, "Usually, in high-profile cases, the feds want to take them and in this one, they aren't. The bottom line, I think, is the facts in this case are pretty clear-cut and the state criminal courts in Arkansas are pretty competent, so I don't think there's an issue."
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| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 He is probably a LOT more frustrated, because the federal government does not execute killers, but the government of Arkansas is already waxing the rope. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-07-19 14:15 |
| #2 Poor Mr. Muhammed apparently is terribly frustrated that his case is being treated as a run of the mill murder rather than an act of war. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-07-19 08:51 |
| #1 Something is wrong with the Muslim leadership in Nashville IMO, something is wrong with Nashville---and the rest of the World. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-07-19 02:24 |