Jimmy Spencer’s murder trial enters Day 3 of jury selection

MARSHALL Co., Ala. (WAFF) – Attorneys continue the lengthy process of selecting a jury for the capital murder trial of Jimmy Spencer on Wednesday. This will be the third day of interviews with potential jurors.

Spencer faces seven counts of capital murder for the 2018 shooting deaths of three people in Guntersville, including a 7-year-old boy. If convicted, he could face the death penalty or life in prison.

Prosecutors and Spencer’s defense attorneys are taking a comprehensive approach to jury selection. They dismissed about 70 jurors on the first day of the trial and sent the remaining candidates home with a written questionnaire.

Now the lawyers are following suit. They interview jurors in groups of about 11. Attorneys try to see the full picture of each potential juror. They asked simple questions: “Do you know your neighbor?” to serious questions related to the death penalty, ‘If you were asked to volunteer to replace the death penalty, would you do it?’

After the group interview, a few were recruited to speak privately with attorneys. The whole session lasted about two and a half hours.

Attorneys will interview the remaining two groups Wednesday morning. The court will convene all potential jurors this afternoon.

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