Oklahoma Supreme Court To Stay Out Of Nichols' Haircut Debate

(Oklahoma City-AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court says it will stay out of the controversy surrounding Terry Nichols' haircut. The court says it won't assume original jurisdiction in a motion by

Wednesday, May 31st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court says it will stay out of the controversy surrounding Terry Nichols' haircut. The court says it won't assume original jurisdiction in a motion by Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel challenging an order handed down by Associate District Judge Robert M. Murphy Jr. The order authorized Nichols to hire a licensed barber at state expense or the wife of his defense attorney to cut his hair. Whetsel says the order exceeded Murphy's authority and interfered with the operation of the jail. The sheriff's policy allows an inmate to pay a licensed barber or allow another inmate to use electric clippers. Nichols hasn't had a haircut since he was brought to Oklahoma City in January. His attorney's don't want to hire a licensed barber to come to the jail for security reasons and they say Nichols could end up with a bad-looking "buzz cut" from electric clippers.