McLEAN, Va.  —  Lawyers for convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad say their client has changed his mind again and now wants to go forward with a federal appeal of his conviction and death sentence.

In a handwritten letter from death row made public earlier this week, Muhammad told the Virginia attorney general that he wanted to suspend all appeals of his 2003 death sentence.

But Muhammad's lawyer, James Connell, says in a letter to the judge made public Friday that he has since spoken with Muhammad and that his client now wants to go forward with an appeal.

Muhammad and his teenage accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, were convicted for their roles in the 2002 sniper spree that terrorized the Washington region. Muhammad was sentenced to death, and Malvo was sentenced to life in prison.