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By Phil Trexler, Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 02:37 p.m. EST, Jan 15, 2008
The first of three groups of potential jurors being considered for the capital murder trial of Bobby Cutts Jr. were called into court Tuesday to answer questions on pretrial publicity and the death penalty.
More potential jurors are due in court Wednesday and Thursday. The group is expected to answer questionnaires and then return to court for general questions on Jan. 23.
About 400 potential jurors from an original pool of 800 remain in consideration.
Stark County Common Pleas Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. is attempting to seat 12 jurors and an unspecified number of alternates for Cutts' Feb. 4 trial.
Cutts, 30, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Jessie Marie Davis of Lake Township, and her unborn daughter in June. He is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Davis' disappearance, her subsequent death and Cutts' arrest last summer, were covered extensively by national and local media.
Cutts has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have said he led them to a Summit County park where Davis' remains were found. Prosecutors also say that a co-defendant, Myisha Ferrell, has given a sworn statement saying Cutts confessed to killing Davis.
Cutts' attorneys have challenged the statement by Ferrell, who reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence to charges of obstructing justice and abuse of a corpse.
Ferrell is one of 98 potential witnesses who could be called to testify at Cutts' trial. She is currently in the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and could be freed next fall.
Brown has placed a gag order on all attorneys and witnesses, barring them from discussing the case.
The pretrial publicity questionnaire asks potential jurors about their personal knowledge of the case and the source of other information they may have acquired about it.
It also asks whether the potential juror was involved or had considered participating in a massive search they took place before Davis' remains were recovered.
Further, the questionnaire asks potential jurors about their thoughts and knowledge about Davis' funeral, interracial relationships, domestic violence news accounts regarding police officers, racist fliers distributed after Cutts' arrest and media coverage in general.
Cutts, a former Canton police officer, is black; Davis was white.
Jurors are being asked about their knowledge of the case, whether they can be impartial and only consider evidence presented in court.
In the death penalty questionnaire, potential jurors are asked their personal beliefs on executions and recent media coverage about the on-going debate on the appropriateness of the death penalty.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com
The first of three groups of potential jurors being considered for the capital murder trial of Bobby Cutts Jr. were called into court Tuesday to answer questions on pretrial publicity and the death penalty.
More potential jurors are due in court Wednesday and Thursday. The group is expected to answer questionnaires and then return to court for general questions on Jan. 23.
About 400 potential jurors from an original pool of 800 remain in consideration.
Stark County Common Pleas Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. is attempting to seat 12 jurors and an unspecified number of alternates for Cutts' Feb. 4 trial.
Cutts, 30, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Jessie Marie Davis of Lake Township, and her unborn daughter in June. He is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Davis' disappearance, her subsequent death and Cutts' arrest last summer, were covered extensively by national and local media.
Cutts has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have said he led them to a Summit County park where Davis' remains were found. Prosecutors also say that a co-defendant, Myisha Ferrell, has given a sworn statement saying Cutts confessed to killing Davis.
Cutts' attorneys have challenged the statement by Ferrell, who reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence to charges of obstructing justice and abuse of a corpse.
Ferrell is one of 98 potential witnesses who could be called to testify at Cutts' trial. She is currently in the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and could be freed next fall.
Brown has placed a gag order on all attorneys and witnesses, barring them from discussing the case.
The pretrial publicity questionnaire asks potential jurors about their personal knowledge of the case and the source of other information they may have acquired about it.
It also asks whether the potential juror was involved or had considered participating in a massive search they took place before Davis' remains were recovered.
Further, the questionnaire asks potential jurors about their thoughts and knowledge about Davis' funeral, interracial relationships, domestic violence news accounts regarding police officers, racist fliers distributed after Cutts' arrest and media coverage in general.
Cutts, a former Canton police officer, is black; Davis was white.
Jurors are being asked about their knowledge of the case, whether they can be impartial and only consider evidence presented in court.
In the death penalty questionnaire, potential jurors are asked their personal beliefs on executions and recent media coverage about the on-going debate on the appropriateness of the death penalty.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com
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