Blacksburg woman will attend trial despite movePosted Sep20, 2007 at 01:50 PMBlacksburg resident Starflower O'Sullivan says she's pleased with Judge Ray Grubbs' decision to move the William Morva trial out of Montgomery County, but that it won't diminish her interest. O'Sullivan, who sat through part of jury selection this week and attended court today, enduring delay after delay, said it was the only way for Morva to receive a fair trial. O'Sullivan said she had no personal relationship with Morva or any of the victims but said she chose to be in the courtroom to offer support. "I never understood how a venue in this county could have produced an unbiased outcome," she said. O'Sullivan is a member of the Quaker Church's Blacksburg Friends Meeting and said both she and her church had been in contact through letters with Morva and the families of Eric Sutphin and Derrick McFarland. They wanted everyone involved to know that people were available to talk to them, she said. Morva never responded to the letters, but O'Sullivan said she then sent personal letters to both Morva and the families. Then, she decided to attend the trial. "I felt a responsibility to be here first as a person and as a vessel to let them know someone was here for them," she said. O'Sullivan, who is adamantly against the death penalty, said she plans to travel to the next venue chosen, at least for parts of the trial. Jury released until 1 p.m.Posted Sep20, 2007 at 10:06 AMAfter court convened for fewer than 10 minutes, Judge Ray Grubbs dismissed the panel of 24 potential jurors until 1 p.m., saying that he and the attorneys are having ongoing conversations No one has said what the hold up is, but Grubbs told one potential juror that he'd take a note she'd given to him under advisement after the break. However, defense attorney Tony Anderson told the media to stick around. Session starting latePosted Sep20, 2007 at 09:30 AMCourt was scheduled to begin at 8:30 this morning but has yet to start Families of both Derrick McFarland and Eric Sutphin are sitting in the courtroom, along with the media. When court convenes, both sides are expected to begin striking jurors. Then, opening arguments are expected to begin. No one has publicly explained the delay. |
.....Advertisement.....
|
...Advertisement...
...Advertisement...
