U.S. Details Defendant's Statements

The Associated Press/August 9, 2000

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- White supremacist Buford O. Furrow said he is playing his psychologist "like a fool" and declared he sometimes feels like killing his lawyers, according to government documents.

The motions filed late Monday argue that Furrow's statements should be admissible either in the evidence phase of his trial or a penalty phase if he is convicted of murder and hate crimes in the 1999 North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting and killing of a letter carrier.

The defense has claimed that Furrow's rights were violated when federal employees elicited statements from him without attorneys present. However, prosecutors said Furrow knew what he was saying and was never snared into making statements without adequate warnings of his rights. An indictment charges Furrow with murdering Filipino-American postal employee Joseph Ileto after shooting and wounding three boys, a teen-age girl and a receptionist at the Jewish center in the San Fernando Valley on Aug. 10, 1999.

The government is seeking the death penalty in the trial set for next year. After his arrest, the documents said Furrow "made several incriminating statements including that he considers himself a 'terrorist' and that his crimes were a 'terrorist act."'

Prosecutors say Furrow has since threatened to kill an inmate and guards, citing Furrow's interviews with Dr. Maureen Burris, a prison psychologist, in which "he stated he could not rest until he killed (inmate Raul) Lopez and the unit staff."

According to prosecutors, a guard recalled Furrow handing him two letters, saying, "Here, I want you to give these to Dr. Burris and tell her I'm tired of playing her like a fool. If she wants me to play the good little racist for her, I will."