By Randall Chase
Associated Press
DOVER, Del. — The trial of a Delaware death row inmate charged with assaulting a prison guard has been postponed while he gets a new attorney.
The trial of Derrick Powell was scheduled to start this week but has been postponed indefinitely.
Powell, charged with assault in a detention facility, was sentenced to death for the 2009 killing of Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer. Spicer was shot after a vehicle pursuit stemming from a botched drug robbery.
An indictment accuses Powell of throwing urine, feces, or other bodily fluid at the guard last year.
While facing the assault charge, Powell is seeking a retrial in the Spicer murder case. His lawyers claim among other things that Powell was mistreated by prison guards while awaiting trial, affecting his ability to participate in his defense.