Defendant David Mark Hill looks at some paperwork while his attorneys Regina Poteat and Robert Harte talk together before potential jurors begin their testimony Thursday. Mr. Hill has been charged with three counts of murder in the 1996 deaths of DSS caseworkers. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

Jury pool smaller in Hill trial

Attorneys will begin selecting jurors next week; judge intends to sequester those chosen

Web posted October 8, 1999

By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- More than 200 people have been eliminated from the pool of potential jurors in the death penalty trial of David Mark Hill, a judge announced during a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Those people won't have to sit for several weeks and listen to testimony, decide the fate of a man's life or be sequestered in a hotel room away from family for an extended period of time.

They are off the hook for one reason or another.

Some died. Others had medical excuses. Many are over 65 and not required by law to serve.

Chief Public Defender Regina Poteat will be in Hill's corner. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

In a Thursday hearing addressing jury selection, Circuit Judge Marc Westbrook said between 125 and 140 potential jurors remain from the original pool of 350 jurors who were summoned. From that group, attorneys next week will begin questioning jurors and then will select 12 and a few alternates to sit on the panel.

Mr. Hill is accused of killing three caseworkers during a 1996 shooting rampage in the North Augusta office of the Department of Social Services. Police say the suspect was upset because his children had been placed in foster care.

On Thursday, a few potential jurors took the witness stand to give reasons why they shouldn't have to serve on the jury.

Judge Marc Westbrook will precide over the Hill trial. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

One man said he worked four jobs and was the sole breadwinner in his household. The judge denied the request, saying the law didn't cover that excuse.

A man and woman were eliminated from the jury pool after revealing that relatives were scheduled to testify in the trial. That would prejudice them.

Without requiring testimony, the judge excused a blind man's request not to serve. The man was not immediately disqualified from serving because of his blindness, but the judge excused him upon his own request.

In other testimony, a handful of sheriff's deputies took the witness stand to explain their efforts to locate 65 jurors after summonses were returned in the mail. One man was found in a jail cell; others had moved out of state or could not be found.

The trial is expected to start at 2:30 p.m. Monday and last several weeks. Judge Westbrook is sequestering the jurors to prevent them from discussing the case with others or to view press accounts.

Mr. Hill's formal charges are three counts of murder, kidnapping, assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of a pistol while committing a violent crime.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.