HATTIESBURG -- Opening statements in the trial of two former Harrison County jailers begin at 10 a.m. today before an all-white jury impaneled in spite of protests by federal prosecutors.
A jury of 10 women and four men will hear the criminal case against Ryan Michael Teel and James Ricky "Rick" Gaston, both accused of conspiring with others to deprive inmates' rights and of specific incidents of use of excessive, unnecessary force.
One of the charges accuses Teel of the fatal beating of inmate Jessie Lee Williams Jr., whose family expressed concern over the makeup of the jury Monday after a full day in a packed courtroom with air-conditioning problems.
Williams was black, but the federal government, in an 18-month investigation, has not claimed the alleged abuse was racially motivated. The government has, however, maintained that the alleged conspiracy to abuse inmates at the Harrison County jail in Gulfport existed as a pattern of abuse for at least five years.
The jury pool, largely from Hattiesburg and Laurel, produced mostly white candidates. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. excused several who showed up for jury duty, citing health, job and family issues. One of five black prospects was exempt from serving because he is a college student with financial-aid issues that may not be resolved if he spends the two weeks or so at trial, Guirola said.
The racial issue came outside potential jurors' presence after attorneys from opposing sides narrowed the list of jurors they wanted to pick. Federal trial attorney Lisa Kristen objected, accusing defense attorneys of racial discrimination because they declined to pick the four black jurors. Defense attorneys, however, claimed that prosecutors used racial- and gender-based discrimination by removing several white men from their list.
Guirola told the attorneys to explain why they rejected certain people.
John Weber, public defender representing Gaston, and Jim Davis, defending Teel, said they didn't want one of the black prospects because the woman claimed her son was beaten at a different jail. Another black prospect, they said, is a criminal justice student who has met a potential witness and another said she didn't like violence.
Guirola called for a recess to study Supreme Court rulings on the issue of discrimination during jury selection. He returned with a ruling that the jury will stand as picked and said the reasons given for specific rejections are "legitimate."
Jessie Lee Williams Jr. is the only alleged victim identified by name prior to trial. His beating on Feb. 4, 2006, and subsequent death is the incident that prompted a state-federal investigation. Since August 2006, eight former jailers, two as recently as last week, have accepted plea bargains to testify for the prosecution.
Michael W. Crosby, attorney for Williams' estate, called the case "extremely important for the Williams family and for our community. The fate of this family and our community is now in the hands of a neighboring community."
Terry Williams, executor of the estate for his brother, Jessie Williams, declined to comment after court. Keith Williams, Jessie Williams' cousin, said the family is depending on jurors to have a conscience.
Of 54 potential jurors, 18 said they had heard of the case through news reports from the Coast and as far north as Jackson.
Guirola and prosecutors continually asked prospective jurors if they can set aside any prior knowledge, prior experiences or preconceived notions and decide the case on the evidence and the facts.
Only two said they couldn't do it. One was a woman who said she couldn't possibly be fair. Another was an offshore worker and part-time law enforcement officer who claimed he would probably side with the two former officers on trial.
The jury is not sequestered, but was ordered to avoid newspapers, television and radio news programs until the trial is over.
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