DADE CITY, Fla. — Six jurors and four alternates have finally been selected after four days of questioning in the trial of movie theater shooter Curtis Reeves.
Opening statements for the trial will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 14, not Friday as originally intended. The trial comes after eight years of delays.
The jury panel, including the alternates, consists of five women and five men. All members of the jury are white. The jurors will not know who the alternates are until they begin deliberations at the end of the trial.
Judge Susan Barthle will spend Friday hearing any final motions from the defense and prosecution.
Thursday marked Day 4 of jury selection. It began with the questioning of the approximately 50 jurors who remained when the day started.
State prosecutors spent half of Thursday asking jurors questions relating to firearms, such as if they have a concealed weapon license or if they have any firearms in their homes.
Questions were also asked about the types of classes these jurors have taken, such as law, psychology and other related fields.
After a lunch recess, the defense had their turn to ask questions. Questioning from the defense was different than the state's approach. The defense spent time asking jurors about answers they gave the state. The state had previously been going row-by-row with the same question, then focusing on the specifics of the jurors' answers.
Questions from the defense covered topics like self-defense or questions specific to those over the age of 65. To older people, the defense asked if they felt more vulnerable physically than they did when they were younger. Reeves was in his early 70s when he shot and killed Chad Oulson. He has previously claimed he acted in self-defense.
In deciding a timeline for the day, the defense expressed that the state had received more time to ask questions.
In response, Judge Susan Barthle became adamant about finishing jury selection Thursday.
"What on Earth could there really be?" Barthle asked the defense in regards to questioning jurors. "I can't wrap my head around telling these folks you have to come back at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow."
Reeves faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. If convicted, he is facing a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Criminal defense attorney Rohom Khonsari said opening statements will be the jury's first look at the strategy each side will present based on their evidence.
He said the defense must prove Reeves was in fear of imminent serious or bodily harm as a reasonable person in his position. Khonsari said age may have an influence on the jury.
"The issue comes as to whether a reasonable person in his position feared that they were in imminent harm or to the point where they felt that they needed to use deadly force," Khonsari said.
On the other side, Khonsari said prosecutors will prove Reeves should have known better as a former Tampa Police captain with years of experience de-escalating situations.
"'I'm not pulling out a weapon unless it's absolutely necessary.' That's what the prosecution is going to try to prove," Khonsari said.