Selection of jurors begins

Web posted Tuesday, January 23, 2001

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

BEAUFORT, S.C. - So much for first impressions.

Arthur Hastings Wise sits at the defense table guarded by security as the jury pool is selected for his death penalty trial in Beaufort County, S.C. KELLIE MCCANN/STAFF

On the opening day of his death penalty trial, Arthur Hastings Wise dispensed with the coat and tie specially fitted for his bulky frame and appeared before potential jurors dressed in his jail clothes.

Despite the advice from his two attorneys and the judge's previous warning concerning the possible implications, Mr. Wise decided to wear a neon yellow jump suit and a green jacket with large lettering on the back that read ``SCDC,'' for the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

It was the first glimpse of Mr. Wise for more than 140 potential jurors from the Lowcountry, where few have heard about the 1997 workplace shootings at the R.E. Phelon Co. plant in Aiken that left four employees dead and three wounded. Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr. moved jury selection to Beaufort, saying media coverage made it impossible to pick an impartial jury in Aiken County.

On Monday, 142 potential jurors answered a summons to appear for jury duty. By the afternoon, Judge Cooper had excused 39 who were disqualified from service or allowed to transfer jury duty to another date because they teach or attend school.

Many jurors tried anything to get excused from service.

One elderly man said he couldn't read or write and had less than a sixth grade education, but the judge said he qualified because of his understanding of the English language and his 30-year service to the city government. When Judge Cooper told the crowd that anyone older than 65 was not required to serve, the same man stood up.

``I wanna get out of here,'' the man told the judge.

Other jurors erupted in laughter and applause when the judge granted this request.

A special education teacher from Hilton Head was offered the opportunity to change jury dates, but said she wanted to serve on the jury panel. ``I'd like to serve. It's an experience I can pass on to my children,'' she said.

``Thank you for your willingness to serve,'' Judge Cooper responded.

Attorneys will spend the next three days interviewing 84 potential jurors in sessions closed to the media. They will try to find people who are ``able to base their decision purely on the basis of the evidence presented in court,'' Judge Cooper said. There are 19 residents who will not be interviewed but could be called back if needed.

Attorneys typically divide jurors into three categories during questioning: Those who say they don't believe in the death penalty, those who say any convicted murderer should receive a death sentence, and those who can weigh the evidence with fairness and impartiality before considering a verdict.

Only members of the third group will remain to decide the case. By law, a judge must automatically excuse jurors who can't be fair and impartial.

Second Circuit Solicitor Barbara Morgan is prosecuting the case, while defense attorneys Gregory Harlow and Carl B. Grant are representing Mr. Wise. The defense team has also hired jury expert Jeff Bloom, a Columbia attorney.

Mr. Wise, 46, showed no signs of emotion throughout the day Monday. He was surrounded by at least four law enforcement officials from Aiken County, and his legs were shackled.

Several family members of the shooting victims attended Monday's session, and one began crying when Judge Cooper read the charges against Mr. Wise and mentioned the victims' names.

The process of picking 12 jurors and a few alternates should continue through Friday. The trial could begin with opening arguments Saturday, when the jury panel is brought to Aiken and sequestered in a local hotel.

Mr. Wise is charged in the Sept. 15, 1997, workplace slayings of four Phelon plant employees: Sheryl Wood, 27; David Moore, 30; Leonard Filyaw, 30; and Charles Griffeth, 56. In addition, Jerry Corley, John Mucha and Stan Vance were wounded in the shooting spree.

Police say the defendant had been fired from the plant two months before the killings for being aggressive with a supervisor.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 648-1395.

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