Murder accused says 'murder' tattoo will hurt his case

A US man accused of first-degree murder has requested permission to permanently alter his "MURDER" tattoo before going to trial.

With only days before the case against Jeffrey Chapman is scheduled to begin, he has asked the state to provide a tattoo artist to obscure or remove the large mirror image tag from his neck.

Chapman's defence attorney claims the tattoo, while irrelevant to the case, is likely to prove prejudicial to jurors.

But prosecutors are refusing to comply, citing a Kansas law that allows tattoo artists to only work in licenced facilities and not jail cells.

The state has accused Chapman of killing a man in 2011 and leaving the body in a roadside ditch for hunters to find.

Source: New York Daily News
Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Matthew Henry