Jury selection continues in trial
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 25, 2017 9:49 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Kenneth Morgan Stancil III looks right to the jury box during the second day of jury selection Monday. Stancil is accused of shooting and killing Wayne Community College print shop technician Ron Lane in April of 2015.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Defense attorney for Kenneth Morgan Stancil III, Walter Webster, questions a potential juror during the second day of jury selection.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
District Attorney Matt Delbridge questions potential jurors during the second day of jury selection during the murder trial of Kenneth Morgan Stancil III Monday in courtroom No. 5 of the Wayne County Courthouse.
Jury selection resumed Monday in the first-degree murder trial of 22-year-old Kenneth Morgan Stancil III.
Stancil is accused of shooting and killing Wayne Community College print shop technician Ron Lane on April 13, 2015, on the school's campus.
He is represented by local defense attorney Walter Webster.
Prosecuting the case is District Attorney Matt Delbridge.
Jury selection began Friday with cursory questioning of the potential jurors by Delbridge ending shortly after it began due to time constraints.
More headway was made when the trial resumed Monday at 2:30 p.m., and the state finished the bulk of its questioning.
Webster has not yet had his turn to question the potential jurors.
Delbridge focused most of his questioning on the potential jurors' life experiences, knowledge of the case and any potential biases they might have before moving on to questions more specific to the case.
He asked the jury at one point if any of them had a Swastika tattoo or an Iron Cross tattoo. Both are symbols used by white supremacists, which Stancil has claimed to be in the past.
None of the potential jurors said they had any such tattoos or claimed to be affiliated with any white supremacy groups.
Delbridge also questioned jurors about their views on homosexuality, saying Lane was gay, and asked whether or not any of them had strong feelings toward that sexual orientation that would allow bias to creep into their decision-making.
None of the potential jurors said they had any problem with homosexuality.
Several potential jurors were excused for cause by Superior Court Judge Jay Hockenbury, who is presiding over the case, before Delbridge excused three potential jurors himself at the end of his questioning for the day.
Prior to jury selection continuing, Hockenbury reopened a Harbison hearing from Friday to make sure Stancil knew what he was agreeing to with the outcome of the hearing.
A Harbison hearing informs the court that the defendant's lawyer plans to admit guilt in the case to certain elements of the alleged crime with the consent of their client.
The hearing Friday established Webster plans to admit at some point during the trial that Stancil shot and killed Lane.
Stancil said Friday he knew what that meant but did not appear to be fully lucid in the courtroom.
When the hearing was reopened Monday afternoon, Stancil was far more lucid and again told Hockenbury he understood what Webster was doing.
It remained unclear Monday how Webster plans to use that strategy during the trial, but Hockenbury ruled it would be allowed. Jury selection in Stancil's trial will resume today at 9:30 a.m.