Accused double murderer John Opry has been representing himself in a lawsuit against the Jasper County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Archie Dunn, but he will not be allowed to serve as his own lawyer when his trial takes place in April 2006.
During a hearing Tuesday in Jasper County Circuit Court, Judge Jon Dermott overruled Opry's motion to represent himself. Opry is charged with the murder of two Sarcoxie men.
Opry, 26, is charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the July 23 shooting deaths of Jim Grace, 59, and Glen Nelson Cramer, 81, both of Sarcoxie.
Opry is being held in lieu of half a million dollars bond.
Federal Judge Ortrie D. Smith ruled earlier this month that the lawsuit filed by Opry can go forward at the taxpayers' expense, at least for a while. Opry will be able to have the $250 filing fee for his case paid for initially, but he will have to pay it back in monthly installments, according to the opinion.
In the lawsuit, filed Oct. 12 in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Opry claims his constitutional rights were violated when a disciplinary hearing tribunal found him guilty of violating jail rules and punished him by not allowing any canteen spending, personal use of telephone, visits or "out-of-cell recreation opportunity" for 30 days. Opry says he wants damages, and wants all records related to the discipline to be removed from his file. He also asks that the sheriff "cease disciplinary action without process which is due."
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