US: The trial of the man charged with last year's sniper shootings in the Washington area was thrown into turmoil yesterday when the accused began conducting his own defence.
Mr John Allen Muhammad (42), who denied involvement in the murders,delivered a rambling opening statement, with reflections on the meaning of truth and how he once wrongly accused his daughter of raiding a biscuit jar.
The decision to defend himself - approved by the presiding judge after a five-minute courtroom conversation - puts Mr Muhammad's life in peril.
The US attorney general, Mr John Ashcroft, ordered the trial to take place in Virginia, which has carried out the highest number of executions of any state after Texas, and legal experts predicted yesterday that the defendant's decision would threaten his chance of an acquittal.
Mr Muhammad, a Gulf war veteran who prides himself on his ability to maintain outward control, appeared reasonably calm as he launched his defence. However, he was reluctant at first to directly address the fact that he stood accused of murder.
"One of the things we're here for today is to find out what everyone wants to know. What happened?" he said. "There's three truths. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I always thought there was just one truth." Mr Muhammad's decision to conduct his own defence confounded the courtroom. Only a week ago, he had assured the presiding judge, Mr LeRoy Millette Jr, that he was satisfied with his counsel. But moments after arriving at the courtroom yesterday, the accused said he wanted to defend himself.
The judge acquiesced after a conversation in which the defendant was questioned about his education and advised that he was making a mistake.
Mr Muhammad's opening remarks didn't measure up to the gravity of the charges: two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and firearms charges arising from the death last year of Dean Meyers. Meyers was the seventh victim in a three-week rampage last October in which 10 people were killed and three were wounded going about their daily lives.