Jury selection for the trial of three former deputies indicted in the 2017 in-custody death of 58-year-old Eurie Lee Martin began Monday, October 11.
Senior Superior Court Judge H. Gibbs Flanders, Jr. explained early Monday morning that the goal is to establish a 12-person jury with four alternates to hear this case.
“The law sets out how the process is to work; even under good conditions, it’s a cumbersome process – it’s a good process, but it takes time,” said Judge Flanders. He added, “The overall goal is to make sure that the jury that is ultimately selected in this process is a fair and impartial jury who will be in a position to hear all the evidence in the case, to apply the law to the evidence that you hear during the course of the trial, and to reach a verdict on the issues you will have presented to you at the conclusion of the case.”
As previously reported by Waco 100, 58-year-old Eurie Lee Martin’s life was ended on July 7, 2017 after an encounter with the three Washington County Deputies, identified as Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell, and Rhett Scott.
All three deputies were immediately placed on administrative leave pending a GBI investigation following Martin’s death. At a news conference held in October of 2017, the late Washington County Sheriff Thomas H. Smith announced that he had terminated all three deputies after meeting with the District Attorney concerning the GBI’s investigation.
The three former deputies were first indicted by the Washington County Grand Jury on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. Those indictments from 2017 were dismissed after the Defense attorneys for Copeland, Howell, and Scott filed a motion to quash, citing the absence of a court reporter during the December 19, 2017 grand jury proceedings.
Senior Superior Court Judge H. Gibbs Flanders, Jr. ruled that a court reporter was required during grand jury proceedings in order to “take down and transcribe the testimony of any witness appearing before the grand jury and any legal advice provided to the grand jury by the prosecuting attorney.”
In 2018, a second Washington County Grand Jury indicted the three former deputies on the same eight counts, including: two counts felony murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count of false imprisonment, one count of aggravated assault, one count of simple assault, and one count of reckless conduct.