LITTLE ROCK — In a letter to a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge, Abdulhakim Muhammad said he intends to fire his attorneys and represent himself against the capital murder charge that could bring him the death penalty. It’s the third time he’s threatened to get rid of his lawyers.
In the four-sentence letter to presiding Circuit Judge Herb Wright, the Muslim convert claims his lawyers are planning to delay the 1 1/2-week trial set to begin Feb. 23 on a dozen charges, including capital murder and attempted capital murder, stemming from the June 2009 shooting that killed Army Pvt.William Long and wounded fellow soldier Quinton Ezeagwula in front of a west Little Rock recruiting station. Muhammad said he doesn’t want any more delays in the case.
“I’ve come to the conclusion [to] represent myself. I’m dismissing Claiborne Ferguson of Memphis and Patrick Benca,” Muhammad wrote in the Dec. 27-postmarked letter. “I know for a fact that Ferguson will try and delay trial again. So it’s in my best interest to dismiss him as counsel and represent myself to avoid anymore delays in my upcoming capital trial in February."
Muhammad’s claims were a surprise Monday to his lead attorney, Ferguson. He said he’s consulting with co-counsel Benca about their next move.
The postmarked date on the letter is four days after Muhammad’s last court appearance when his attorneys questioned his sanity after he blurted out to the judge that he wanted to plead guilty to a series of minor felony charges he’s picked up while in jail. Ferguson said Muhammad’s mental health appears to have been deteriorating over the past couple of months, and both Benca and Ferguson told the judge that Muhammad hasn’t been cooperating with them and had refused to see a doctor they’d hired for a private mental examination.
Muhammad disputed those claims as lies.
With Muhammad’s mental health called into question,Ferguson said, it’s not clear how the judge will respond. Muhammad is next due in court Jan. 20.
“It’s premature to suppose what the court will do about this,” he said.
Muhammad, 25, who has claimed ties to al-Qaida since his arrest, threatened to fire his lawyers in July and October, complaining that they were dragging out the case. But both of those disputes appeared to heal within a couple of days.
State doctors have already pronounced Muhammad sane, but the judge, faced with the lawyers’ concerns, said he had no choice but to order a second mental examination, although Wright indicated he didn't want to let the evaluation delay the capital-murder trial.
Muhammad’s attorneys haven’t asked for a delay, but Ferguson has said he’s planning another challenge to the validity of the charges against Muhammad. The trial has been delayed twice in the 19 months since the shootings, once at Ferguson’s request and again when the judge ordered the first mental examination. The defense claims that state courts don’t have jurisdiction over their client because he’s a terrorist, an argument rejected by the judge at the last hearing.
An effort by Ferguson to secure public funding for the defense contributed to the delay since it required a hearing before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Muhammad’s father, Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis, who hired Ferguson, did not return a phone message Monday.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/04/2011