Jury selection set to start in "American Sniper" murder trial
STEPHENVILLE, Tex. - Jury selection is set to begin Thursday in the trial of the man accused of killing former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and a neighbor, CBS Dallas reported.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Eddie Ray Routh shot and killed Kyle and Chad Littlefield with a semiautomatic handgun at a shooting range on February 2, 2013.
Routh, a fellow veteran who had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, allegedly opened fire on the two men at the Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas, about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth, and fled in Kyle's truck. His relatives say he admitted to them that he had committed the killings.
Defense attorneys had asked a judge to delay the trial due to the popularity of the film "American Sniper," based on Kyle's autobiography of the same name. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed Monday to be "Chris Kyle Day" in the state.
Kyle is regarded as the deadliest sniper in American military history. His autobiography, which described his military service in Iraq and his life after returning home, was released a year before his death.
Some 800 people have been summoned for jury duty in Routh's trial, said court spokeswoman Wanda Pringle, compared with the typical jury pool of 175 in Erath County. Once seated, the jury will be under orders not to discuss the case.
Routh's attorney, J. Warren St. John, has said that Routh will plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Late in 2014, prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty against him.
Finding jurors who haven't heard about Chris Kyle could prove to be difficult, said Allen Place Jr., a criminal defense attorney and spokesman for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
"We want everything to be even-handed, and if there was any pretrial publicity that intends a different spin on anything, then we should all be upset, regardless of where it comes from," Place said.
The movie, which has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, has garnered its share of controversy.
Several notable celebrities have sounded off about the film. Actor Seth Rogen apologized after tweeting that "American Sniper" reminded him of a Nazi propaganda film showed in the Quentin Tarantino movie "Inglorious Basterds."
Meanwhile, filmmaker Michael Moore also tweeted "we were taught snipers were cowards" after his grandfather had been killed by a sniper in World War II. Moore later maintained he said nothing about the film itself.
Last week, Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, spoke to legislators at a private screening of "American Sniper" at the Texas Capitol. She praised peer counseling such as the Military Veteran Peer Network, one of several assistance programs that the Texas Veterans Commission hopes will receive more state funding this year.