This should prove interesting. my favorite part of his defense so far is the "There are three kinds of truth: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (CNN) -- Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad denied any involvement in the shootings in his opening statements Monday, after the judge granted an unexpected motion allowing him to represent himself.
"I had nothing to do with the crime," he told the jury. "I had nothing at all to do with the crime -- and they know this. And please pay attention-- my life and my son's life -- is on the line," Muhammad said, apparently a reference to fellow suspect Lee Boyd Malvo.
Muhammad also gave a discourse on "truth."
"There's three truths. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I always thought there was just one truth," he said in a report by The Associated Press. "The facts should help us identify what's a lie, what's not a lie," he said.
Muhammad is charged with murder, terrorism, conspiracy and illegal use of a firearm. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted on the murder or terrorism counts.
Muhammad, 42, is on trial in the slaying of Dean Harold Meyers, a Vietnam combat veteran who was gunned down outside a northern Virginia gas station last October. Myers was the seventh victim of a three-week shooting spree that left 10 people dead in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Three other people survived gunshot wounds suffered during the spree.
Muhammad and Malvo – who faces a separate trial beginning next month -- were arrested together, sleeping in a car at a highway rest stop in Maryland. Prosecutors have said the shootings were part of a plot to extort $10 million from the government.
Muhammad made the motion just minutes before opening arguments were scheduled to begin.
Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. said Muhammad's defense team, Peter Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, will serve as his standby counsel.
Prior to Monday's ruling, Muhammad refused to cooperate with what appeared to be defense attorneys' plans to show he has mental health problems. He refused to be examined by defense psychiatric expert Park Dietz, against the advice of his lawyers.
Assistant Commonwealth Attorney James Willett began his statements by placing a dark bag on the prosecution's table and slowly assembling pieces of the Bushmaster rifle the prosecution believes was used in the sniper shooting. (Possible evidence)
He then handed it to a deputy sheriff for inspection, and when it was handed back, he clicked the rifle's folding bi-pod legs out and rested it on the prosecution's table.
Willett also showed the jury photographs of a hole in Muhammad's car that authorities say he and his alleged accomplice, 18-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, shot through, so they could fire without being seen.
"There will be no eyewitness testimony in any of these shootings, that is how clever he (Muhammad) is," Willett said.
Willett told jurors he would describe 16 shootings allegedly involving Muhammad, including shootings in Montgomery, Alabama, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
One of the capital murder charges requires prosecutors to prove the defendant committed at least two shootings in a three-year period, but prosecutors have not said how many of the crimes they intend to discuss during the trial.
During his opening statement, Willett referred to a large chart showing photographs of shooting victims. Beneath each picture was a photograph of Muhammad's dark Chevrolet Caprice, if the car was believed to have been used in that person's shooting, and a picture of the gun or guns believed linked to each crime.
The Bushmaster rifle was linked to the D.C.-area shootings and a .22 caliber pistol was used in earlier shootings, prosecutors said.
Malvo may be one of the first people called into court.
The teen's attorney, Michael Arif, has said Malvo had been "invited" to appear, but that he is not sure why. He theorized prosecutors might want to use Malvo for identification purposes.
Malvo was brought to Virginia Beach Sunday morning, sheriff's deputies there said.
Members of Meyers' family, including two of his brothers were in court for Monday's proceedings.
"We'll receive a certain measure of closure by becoming intimately familiar with whatever details are available about what really happened on October 9th, 2002, and as a result we'll be able to take steps toward closure," Bob Meyers told CNN. "But the truth is, closure will probably never fully come."
Does anyone else from the NY area remember the trial of that gunman that walked through the LIRR train shooting white people? I forget his name but he represented himself and it was truly pathetic to see him in action.
