Murderer asks to represent self

As he was led into Flathead County District Court Thursday dressed in bright orange and blue jail garb, most of Terry Charles Olson’s 20 tattoos were concealed — but one was clearly visible.

An image of a heart with the name of his father — E. John Olson — is inked across his neck, bracketed by the years of his birth and death.

Olson was a baby-faced 14-year-old when he confessed to murdering his sleeping father at their Ferndale home in 1998.

On Thursday, an older, tattooed Olson appeared before Judge Katherine Curtis and asked to represent himself in an effort by prosecutors to extend his time in prison after he allegedly violated conditions of his release.

Olson was released from state custody after qualifying for parole in June of 2009.

Now 27, he’s again in jail after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and consuming alcohol in March.

The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole has reinstated the remaining years of his sentence, according to Olson’s parole officer Brian Fulford, and now the Flathead County Attorney’s Office is seeking to add additional years to his incarceration.

Olson appealed his original sentence of 40 years in prison with 10 suspended, which was delivered by Curtis in 1998. The Court of Appeals adjusted the sentence to 40 years with 16 years suspended, leaving him with 24 years to serve.

Corrigan has petitioned to revoke those six years of the suspended sentence granted by the appeals court, which would in theory extend his current incarceration.

Olson asked Curtis for the ability to represent himself in an upcoming hearing to revoke the suspended sentence.

“Everything I brought up, I was told I was wrong,” Olson said. “So I thought I would just go ahead and do it.”

His attorney, public defender Courtney Nolan, didn’t oppose the request and said it was clear that Olson had lost faith in her representation.

Corrigan objected, saying that Olson does not have an understanding of the criminal justice system that would allow him to adequately defend himself.

“He just doesn’t have the knowledge and ability to effectively represent himself,” Corrigan said after the hearing.

Curtis agreed to remove Nolan from the case, but ruled that a “standby attorney” would be assigned to provide legal advice to Olson. Curtis’ ruling means he has the ability to file motions in District Court without the approval of a legal representative.

Olson has requested that the hearing to revoke the suspended sentence be dismissed and that a bench warrant for his arrest be quashed.

Curtis scheduled a hearing for Dec. 16 for an update on his case, though it’s not clear if she will rule on his requests by then.

Olson was originally arrested after shooting his father, Edwin John Olson, in the head with a .22 caliber gun on May 20, 1998.

He was found at a Kalispell mall the morning of the murder driving his father’s truck and carrying money believed to be stolen from his father.

During his trial in the fall of 1998, Olson told the court his father had abused him by withholding food and beating him. The abuse led him to believe that the only way to end it was to kill his father, he said at the time.

Because he was a juvenile, Olson was originally sent to the Pine Hills Correctional Facility for boys before being transferred to an adult facility. He spent portions of his incarceration at the Montana State Prison and at a pre-release center in Missoula.

 He’s been held at the Flathead County Detention Center since Aug. 25.