Nation IN BRIEF : MISSISSIPPI : Lack of Black Jurors Delays Murder Trial
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Too few blacks among more than 70 potential jurors in Laurel forced a delay in the murder trial of a black teen-ager who claims he gunned down two gay white men who were out to rape him. Defense attorney J. Ronald Parrish sought the cancellation of jury selection, arguing that the small number of available blacks would make it impossible for Marvin McClendon to get a fair trial. McClendon, 17, is charged in the October deaths of Joseph Shoemake, 24, and Robert Walters, 34.
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