LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The lawyer for a Muslim convert accused of killing a soldier outside a Little Rock recruiting center said the man was “tortured” and “radicalized” in a Yemeni prison.
Lawyer Jim Hensley also said Abdulhakim Muhammad did not tell police that there would have been more bloodshed in the attack Monday had more soldiers been outside the recruiting station.
Muhammad has pleaded not guilty to a capital murder charge in the death of Pvt. William Long of Conway. Another soldier was wounded in the attack. Little Rock police said Muhammad told officers he could have killed more.
Hensley said Muhammad went to Yemen to teach English to Afghani war refugees but was detained because of problems with his visa. In prison, the lawyer said, “hardened terrorists” abused him.
Muhammad spent four months in the prison before U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., was able to intercede on his behalf, Hensley said.
