Bizarre beginning to former airman’s trial

[unhappycamper]

Bizarre beginning to former airman’s trial
By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The homicide trial of a former U.S. airman assigned to Misawa Air Base, Japan, began Monday with a bizarre twist.

At the outset of his hearing in Aomori District Court, William Scott Omari McAllister, 26, declared he was pleading “not guilty” to the charges of killing his Japanese ex-wife on July 20, 2006, and damaging and abandoning her corpse.

“Both indictments are wrong,” he asserted.

He then told the court he had a statement to read, pointing to a document that appeared to be at least several pages long.

“That statement is not about the 20th of July but what’s been going on since I’ve been detained,” he said.

Defense attorney Masaki Takemoto seemed surprised by McAllister’s pleas of innocence, and a recess was called. McAllister never read his statement.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50726