Jury Selection Continues In Hadiya Pendleton Case
CHICAGO (CBS)--Jury selection resumes today in the trials of two men accused in the 2013 murder of Hadiya Pendleton.
Two juries are simultaneously being picked to decide the fates of Kenneth Williams and Micheail Ward. Both are charged with first degree murder in the January 2013 shooting on the city's South Side.
Both cases took more than five years to go to trial for several reasons. Ward changed attorneys half way through the case. There were also numerous motions and hearings over the years.
And a detective involved in the interrogation process once worked with former CPD Commander Jon Burge, the infamous commander accused of torturing criminal suspects.
"The big issue about the admissibility of Ward's confession, whether it was voluntary, whether it could've been coerced, that was a pre-trial motion that took a lot of time," said CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller.
Pendleton was shot and killed days after she performed at events celebrating President Barack Obama's 2013 inauguration. First Lady Michelle Obama attended her funeral.