Attorneys request venue change

Web posted October 14, 1999

By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- Court officials sent strong signals Wednesday that it won't be an Aiken County jury that sits in the death penalty trial of David Mark Hill.

Should the David Hill trial be moved out of Aiken County to ensure a fair trial? Yes (38%) = 16 No (62%) = 26 TOTAL 42

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``It's incredible about the public opinion on this and the public awareness of the case,'' Circuit Judge Marc Westbrook said.

The dismal outlook came late Wednesday after an additional 36 potential jurors were disqualified from serving, many because they had heard about the killings of three caseworkers at the North Augusta Department of Social Services in 1996 and had formed solid opinions.

Mr. Hill, 39, is charged in the shooting deaths of Jimmy Riddle, Josie Curry and Michael Gregory. His formal charges are three counts of murder, assault and battery with intent to kill, kidnapping and burglary.

Asked by the judge Wednesday about her knowledge and opinion in the case, one female juror sat across from the defendant and said: ``I just don't think that people should take other people's lives because things don't go right for them. These are innocent lives that were taken, and there are other ways to deal with things.''

She was excused from serving.

In the beginning, 350 people were summoned for the jury pool. Today, 76 remaining potential jurors will return to the Aiken County courthouse to hear whether Judge Westbrook will continue with the jury selection process or stop the trial.

If he continues, the next step would eliminate those jurors who do not believe in the death penalty or could not consider a life sentence for someone convicted of murder. After that step, anyone with a connection to a witness in the case would be excused from serving.

Defense attorney Robert Harte told the judge that it appears an Aiken County jury would not be able to give his client a fair and impartial trial, saying county residents have been ``saturated with information'' about the case. He suggested similar shootings at the R.E. Phelon Co. plant in 1997 gave the DSS trial double publicity because ``there wasn't an article on Phelon that didn't mention the DSS case.''

``There's just been too much publicity for us to try this case in Aiken County,'' he said, referring to a slew of newspaper articles and television reports.

Mr. Harte has filed motions asking for a change of venue. If the judge grants the motion, the trial will be postponed until early next year, when the judge could pick a jury from another county and transport them here.

During Wednesday's interviews, several jurors were dismissed for other reasons, including one man who is fighting with the Aiken County DSS office to regain custody of his children. Several others were dismissed because they had medical problems, were pregnant or have small children to care for.

The judge must have 35 jurors remaining after the interview process to continue the case. From that pool, defense attorneys can pass on 14 and Solicitor Barbara Morgan can pass on seven, leaving the necessary 12 jurors and two alternates.

If the trial remains in Aiken, jurors will be sequestered and kept in a hotel away from their families for as much as two weeks, Judge Westbrook said.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.