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| Sheley Wants to Represent Himself -- Again; DOC Disputes Claim in Sheley Letter |
FIRST REPORTED 2:20pm, UPDATED 3:33pm 7/15/11 Accused spree killer Nicholas Sheley has once again changed his mind about representing himself in court -- this time, however, he claims it's due to circumstances beyond his control.
A letter filed Friday in Knox County Circuit Court but dated last Sunday indicates that Sheley can no longer represent himself in his murder case in the county, because of what he says is due to a series of "lockdowns" that have occurred at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.
He says the lockdowns have made it "virtually impossible" for him to prepare for trial, and that is leading him to ask for legal representation again, and that he'd prefer the attorney he fired in April: Jeremy Karlin.
State Department of Corrections Spokesperson Sharyn Elman tells WGIL that there was a four-day lockdown at Stateville due to an altercation -- not a series of lockdowns -- and that the lockdowns would not have prevented Sheley from having everything he needed in order to prepare for trial.
Sheley says in the letter he had no problem with Karlin representing him before when his case was death penalty eligible prior to a repeal.
Sheley says he does not, however, want a delay in the start of his trial, now scheduled for late-August.
This, comes at a time when the Sterling "Daily Gazette" reported this week that Sheley has also written prosecutors in Whiteside County and in Jefferson County, Missouri, asking them to start trial proceedings against him within 160 days in Whiteside County, and 180 days in Missouri.
Sheley is accused of bludgeoning to death 65-year old Ronald Randall of Galesburg, five Rock Falls residents in Whiteside County, and an Arkansas couple in Missouri.
State Department of Corrections officials have not responded to a request for comment on the lockdowns at Stateville.
To read the letter Sheley wrote, CLICK HERE (pdf document).
(Nicholas Sheley)
(Reposted 7/16/11) |
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| 07 15 11 by Newsroom |
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