Jacksonville — Opening statements are set to begin at 9 a.m. for the first day of trial in the Aiden McClendon case.
A very long day of jury selection Monday in the murder trial of two men accused in the crossfire death of a Jacksonville toddler.
Reporter Anne Schindler is tweeting live from the courtroom:
Kquame Richardson and Henry Lee Hayes are charged with killing 22-month-old Aiden McClendon in January 2016 as the toddler was returning home from daycare.
The defendants are being tried together but each will have his own jury of six, plus two alternates. Finding those 16 jurors required winnowing down a pool of 100, plus 25 additional held in reserve outside the courtroom.
Throughout the day, jurors answered questions ranging from mundane to intimate, including their experience as victims of crime, and their health histories.
By 5 p.m., jurors were peevish to the point of rudeness. One openly complained how “long” it was taking. Others shushed and moaned every time the chattier jurors rose – again and again – to offer personal experiences or theories on brain development (or hint at their incontinence issues). One juror even had a mild seizure from exhaustion.
The frustration was so palpable, Circuit Judge Steve Whittington felt compelled to give the dyspeptic jurors a pep talk. “If you’re getting disgruntled, if you’re getting anxious, I get it,” he remarked. “This is the most cumbersome part of a case, but it’s necessary to get to the remainder of the trial.”
“I hope this little pep talk is energizing you,” he added.
Both sides pressed ahead, determined to finish jury selection in the murder trial of two men accused in the crossfire death of a Jacksonville toddler.
Police say McClendon's cousin, an alleged gang member, was the intended target.
At one point, jurors were asked their views on rap music. Both defendants are alleged to have been involved with gangs that produced rap videos. Prosecutors say the videos were thinly veiled tools to summon gang to gang violence or celebrate its aftermath.
Hayes’ attorney, James Hernandez, noted some people dislike rap music.
“It can be vulgar. It can be loud. It can be derogatory toward women. It can be violent. Sometimes,” he added, "it has a beat.”
Hernandez noted that mainstream music is also frequently violent, rattling off Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff," Bon Jovi’s "Dead or Alive," Johnny Cash’s "Folsom Prison Blues," and Vicki Lawrence’s "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.”
Jurors were also asked how they would judge the defendants' age, since they were 16 and 17 at the time of the alleged murder.
“I’m conflicted about it,” one said. “I feel like teenagers aren’t thinking clearly, their brains aren’t fully formulated."
Because of their age at the time of the crime, both defendants would be eligible for parole if convicted and given a life sentence.
The trial is expected to last eight to 10 days. Court resumes Tuesday at 9 a.m.
