Va. man's attorneys want jail videos

Attorneys for the man charged in the shooting deaths of eight people in Appomattox obtained a court order Monday for any jail surveillance videotapes of their client.

Appomattox County Circuit Judge Richard Blanton granted a defense request for the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center's records pertaining to Christopher Speight, including psychological reports and any videotapes of Speight.

Commonwealth's Attorney Darrel Puckett and defense attorney Neil Horn both said it was unclear whether any videotapes exist.

“The jail superintendent will let us know once the subpoenas are issued,” Horn said.

Speight was arrested Jan. 20 after an overnight standoff with police at the home he shared with his sister and her family, who were among the eight people shot and killed. He is charged with capital murder and six other charges.

In late June, Blanton ruled that Speight was incompetent to stand trial. He sent Speight to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment to restore his competency. Puckett said he expects to hear from the hospital by late December.

In court papers, Speight's attorneys said he displayed “an overall agitated and fearful demeanor” in jail and that he talked about “being tortured by other entities that were battling over him and he demanded the torture stop.” Horn said he sought jail records in an attempt to discover evidence that will help the defense.

-- Associated Press