Story Published:
Aug 1, 2009 at 8:39 AM CST
Story Updated:
Aug 1, 2009 at 2:30 PM CST
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., -- Prosecutors say they'll seek a death penalty against a man accused of killing a soldier outside an Army recruiting center. Abdulhakim Muhammad pleaded not guilty on Friday at a Pulaski County court hearing to charges that he shot and killed Pvt. William Andrew Long. The judge set a trial date of Feb. 15.
Muhammad's lawyer says his client is in good spirits but wouldn't say whether his client's calls to reporters to claim responsibility for the death would affect his case. Muhammad has called a reporter for The AP twice to discuss the shooting on June 1 that also wounded another soldier.
In those conversations, Muhammad said he didn't consider the killing a murder because U.S. military action in the Mideast justified it.
