Potential Jurors Questioned About Beliefs
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON — Prosecuting and defense attorneys today continued the key process of selecting jurors for the KFC murders trial.
Romeo Pinkerton, 49, stands accused in the 1983 case in which five people were abducted from a Kilgore KFC restaurant and shot to death. He is charged with capital murder and could face the death penalty.
Pinkerton’s cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, also has been indicted in the case. His trial is scheduled after Pinkerton’s.
The case was moved from Rusk County, where the bodies were found, by State District Judge Clay Gossett of Henderson on a change of venue order. Attorneys began individual questioning of jurors today.
Much of the day today was devoted to questioning a man who works in the medical profession. The native of India, naturalized in 1992, said he was residing in India when the murders occurred.
In answering questions, he spoke of his Christian beliefs, belief in the justice system and said he could sentence someone to death if evidence supported the sentence.
Attorneys also questioned a woman who said she worked in the medical profession. The woman said she questioned the accuracy of DNA testing because human error in testing procedures could occur.
Prosecutors have said they will present DNA evidence as part of their case against Pinkerton.
About 85 jurors have been singled out from a larger jury pool for individual questioning. The voir dire could continue for weeks, attorneys for both sides have indicated.
On the night of Sept. 23, 1935, Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were taken from the restaurant where some of them worked. Their bodies were found the next day on a rural Rusk County oil lease. Authorities said the five had been shot to death "execution-style."
At the time, authorities believed the crime might have begun as a robbery.
The case is being prosecuted by the Texas Attorney General's Office in conjunction with the Rusk County District Attorney's Office.
Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON — Prosecuting and defense attorneys today continued the key process of selecting jurors for the KFC murders trial.
Romeo Pinkerton, 49, stands accused in the 1983 case in which five people were abducted from a Kilgore KFC restaurant and shot to death. He is charged with capital murder and could face the death penalty.
Pinkerton’s cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, also has been indicted in the case. His trial is scheduled after Pinkerton’s.
The case was moved from Rusk County, where the bodies were found, by State District Judge Clay Gossett of Henderson on a change of venue order. Attorneys began individual questioning of jurors today.
Much of the day today was devoted to questioning a man who works in the medical profession. The native of India, naturalized in 1992, said he was residing in India when the murders occurred.
In answering questions, he spoke of his Christian beliefs, belief in the justice system and said he could sentence someone to death if evidence supported the sentence.
Attorneys also questioned a woman who said she worked in the medical profession. The woman said she questioned the accuracy of DNA testing because human error in testing procedures could occur.
Prosecutors have said they will present DNA evidence as part of their case against Pinkerton.
About 85 jurors have been singled out from a larger jury pool for individual questioning. The voir dire could continue for weeks, attorneys for both sides have indicated.
On the night of Sept. 23, 1935, Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, were taken from the restaurant where some of them worked. Their bodies were found the next day on a rural Rusk County oil lease. Authorities said the five had been shot to death "execution-style."
At the time, authorities believed the crime might have begun as a robbery.
The case is being prosecuted by the Texas Attorney General's Office in conjunction with the Rusk County District Attorney's Office.
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