A Tennessee man who faces the death penalty if convicted of killing three people in a daylong series of shootings in 2022 has changed course and decided not to serve as his own lawyer in the case.
Ezekiel Kelly briefly appeared in court Thursday with his court-appointed lawyer, weeks after he told a judge that he wanted to represent himself in the Memphis shootings that also wounded three people. The September 2022 shootings, which were livestreamed on social media, led to a citywide shelter-in-place order and a frantic manhunt.
Kelly, 22, had made the unusual request to represent himself about six months before his trial, which is scheduled for July 14. His court-appointed lawyers had been helping Kelly with his case in an advisory capacity until Shelby County Judge James Jones Jr. issued an order re-appointing the lawyers to represent him…