Cobbins jury selection day 3:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- After three days and many hours, a jury has been chosen in the case against Letalvis Cobbins, and he'll stand trial starting Monday as the first of four defendants charged in the carjacking, rape and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in January 2007.

Friday was the fastest of the three days of jury selection held in Nashville. The attorneys had an idea going into the day about who they want in the jury box next week.

They brought that number from 167 potential jurors Wednesday, downt to 90 by Friday morning. By Friday afternoon, prospective jurors had been narrowed down to the final 12 plus four alternates.

All 90 jurors filled the courtroom in as Judge Richard Baumgartner laid out a brief breakdown of the case ahead, saying two-and-a-half years ago, Christian and Newsom were carjacked and kidnapped in the Washington Ridge Apartment complex.

The prosecution then broke down what happened after that.

"Mr. Newsom was bound, raped, two bullets in his back, and another bullet in the back of his head," Prosecutor Takisha Fitzgerald said. "Ms Christian was tied up, undressed partially, raped orally, vaginally, and anally. Some sperm was found on her clothing."

They were details that were hard for some to hear and for others to see. When defense attorney Scott Green held up pictures of both Christian and Newsom, some jurors decide they could not sit on this case.

Green said, "Just because something terribly bad happened to Mr. Newsom and Ms. Christian doesn't make everybody across the board guilty of capital murder."

Green told them to expect the case to show Cobbins did not do everything he's charged with. Green asked would-be jurors to keep separate what they think he should have done, and what the law says.

"You're going to hear he told the detectives, 'I didn't know what they were going to do,' " Green said. "He made bad choices, but he's not a murderer."

The final jury consists of five men, and seven women, plus there are four other men that are the alternates.

That breaks down to two black men , five black women, one white man, two white women, one Asian man, and one Hispanic man.

The alternates are three white men, and one black man.

The final 16 jurors will be bussed into Knoxville Sunday for the trial to start Monday.

Volunteer TV's Mike McCarthy will be in the courtroom starting Monday, and VolunteerTV.com will stream the trial live, gavel-to-gavel on our Web channel.

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UPDATED 2:30 P.M.

The final jury has been selected to hear Letalvis Cobbins' murder trial in connection with the carjacking, kidnapping and killing of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in January 2007. The jury was picked in Nashville, but the trial will be held in Knox County starting Monday, Aug. 17.

We will have a breakdown for you First at 4:00 on Volunteer TV.
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UPDATED 2:20 P.M.

They are just whittling a few down at a time now, working towards that final batch of jurors that will travel to Knoxville next week.

They continue to fill in the jury box in this courtroom with potentials, to decide who will fill the jury box for the case against Letalvis Cobbins.

They're working with 20 seats filled at time, that's 16 jurors and 4 alternates, but for one reason or another they're excusing the person sitting in a seat, to replace them another alternate.

Stay with VolunteerTV.com for the final list as soon as it is determined.

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UPDATED 1:45 P.M.

The defense for Letalvis Cobbins just stressed to potential jurors how they are supposed to pass judgment.

Scott Green told them, we all think of what we would or would not do in a situation, but during this case they're only supposed to keep their moral code separate from what the law says.

Basically, he's saying they can only find him guilty of crimes based on the evidence presented before them during this case, and not what they feel he should have done during that time.

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UPDATED 1:30 P.M.

After a brief break, they released several more potential jurors.

They're now touching base with a few more jurors that are in their top list, that could be the ones that will sit in the jury box next week in Knoxville.

Volunteer TV's Heather Haley will have the details of who makes up the final jury, without releasing their identities, as soon as it is available.

Stay with VolunteerTV.com for that and more information, and see her live reports with more details First at 4:00.

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UPDATED 12:30 P.M.

Three jurors were just released.

One was a man who expressed to the prosecution that he doesn't know if he could "sit in judgment of another human being."

The others, one male and one female, reacted to the photographs the defense presented from the crime.

The man told the court he "doesn't understand how anyone could take part in something like that," as they both said they're not sure they can still see Cobbins as innocent, until proven guilty, based on the nature of the crime.

Now they have 87 potential jurors to narrow down.

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UPDATED 12:05 P.M.

The defense is now speaking to the potential jurors.

Scott Green, representing Cobbins, just told the jurors that Cobbins is guilty of some of the charges, but "he is not a killer."

He just presented two pictures to all them to explain yes the murders were gruesome, but the fact that Christian and Newsom "met such a horrible death" doesn't mean Cobbins is directly involved.

Green told the potential jurors that Eric Boyd was the one who took Newsom and "he was never seen again."

Several jurors have mentioned they can no longer see Cobbins as not guilty, after hearing and seeing more on what happened to Christian and Newsom.
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UPDATED 11:35 A.M.

The prosecution is explaining to the potential jurors what charges Cobbins faces.

They want to make sure each person understands what the charges mean.

The prosecution set it up by explaining exactly what was done to Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

They mentioned the kidnapping in the Knoxville apartment complex, and quickly went into detail about how Christian and Newsom were raped and murdered.

Images will be shown during the trial, but the description alone, today, can be tough to hear.

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UPDATED 11:05 A.M.

Judge Baumgartner is addressing all 90 potential jurors right now, explaining more about what the day holds.

He says the attorneys will line out the case and some of the evidence.

He also set up the charges against Letalvis Cobbins, including kidnapping, rape, and the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

He's now explaining to them that Cobbins is innocent until proven guilty.
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UPDATED 10:35 A.M.

Well, the jury has been narrowed a bit already this morning, and they haven't even started.

They are doing a roll call at this very minute, to make sure everyone returned that was supposed to.

But, two jurors were released this morning because of hardship issues.

This can be anything from health, family, or other obligations that would make it hard for someone to spend a couple of weeks in Knoxville.

So we're now down to 90 jurors that will be narrowed to the final 16, plus alternates today.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - It is now day 3, and the expected final day for choosing a jury in the case against Letalvis Cobbins, in the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Court officials say they hope to pick the final jury that will travel to Knoxville next week for the trial.

They have had luck finding people that knew little to nothing about the case, which helped in narrowing down the 167 to 92.

The Judge is expected to give instructions and explain more about the process to the potential jurors today.

So today, the court will have to narrow down the dozens to the final members that will sit in the jury box plus the alternates.

Volunteer TV's Heather Haley is in the courtroom in Nashville, and will update you here throughout the day as well on her Twitter page HHaleyWVLT.

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Cobbins jury selection day 2, 8/13/09:

UPDATED 2:00 P.M.

Step one for the jury chosen to sit on the Cobbins' trial would be a decision of guilt, but what comes after that is weighing heavy on the minds of many potential jurors.

A black woman sat down with the court to discuss her questionnaire she filled out, where she stated that she could not sentence someone death.

She based her opinion, on the loss she felt when her son was take from her.

She said her son was murdered, and despite that, she hoped his killer to get life in prison, so could not sentence someone else to that fate.

She said "because the pain I felt from the loss of my son" and she didn't want to inflict that pain on anyone else.

The defense Attorney stated that "death hurts whether it comes at the hands of an accused person, or at the state of Tennessee."

Judge Baumgartner dismissed the woman, but Mr. Green objected.

She went home.
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UPDATED 1:40 P.M.

Several more jurors have gone before court today, some headed home, others will be back tomorrow for the next step.

One man chosen as a potential juror, is very familiar with death row.

He serves as a Chaplain to death row inmates around the Nashville area.

He told the court he could not put someone on that same list, that he attends to daily.

He was sent home.

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UPDATED 12:00 P.M.

As they take the first short break of the day, 15 potential jurors have gone before the court.

9 have been asked to come back Friday, which will be the final step in picking who will travel to Knoxville for the trial next week.

The death penalty was a topic that sent many potential jurors home yesterday, and the thoughts and feelings on the topic are doing the same thing today, so far.

A white male spoke with the Judge, defense, and prosecution.

He was asked of the 3 potential sentences, if Cobbins was convicted which could he not consider, and he said the death penalty.

He went on to explain that his personal feelings come from the fact that his current Pastor was once convicted of murder.

He told the court he served his time, and "if he had been sentenced to death, he wouldn't be our Pastor."

He was sent home.

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UPDATED 11:00 A.M.

Wednesday very few jurors knew much of the murders of a young Knoxville couple, but the start of day revealed a potential juror who remembered a little from Nashville coverage of the case.

The white man, is a detective in the Nashville area.

He told the court he remembers seeing the story in a local newspaper.

He said he simply remember there was a "young couple allegedly kidnapped, robbed, and murdered."

He was asked to move to the next step and come back Friday morning.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- We are covering day two of jury selection for the Letalvis Cobbins trial in Nashville, as it begins this morning.

Court officials wanted to find a jury that didn't know about the highly publicized case, in the January 2007 murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

Day 1, Judge Baumgartner, prosecution, and the defense for Cobbins, interviewed more than 80 men and women of all ages.

Just as many are on the schedule for day 2 in Nashville.

Volunteer TV's Heather Haley has been following the selection process in Nashville, and will continue to update you here on VolunteerTV.com, as well as live on Volunteer TV.

You can also follow her Twitter updates throughout the day, at twitter.com/HHaleyWVLT.

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Cobbins jury selection day 1, 8/12/09:

UPDATED 1:45 P.M.

A potential juror was just dismissed when he explained the "flawed" justice system keeps him from ever issuing a death penalty sentence.

He told the Judge and attorneys that previous cases that he has heard about in the media, make him believe the "court system needs to be fixed."

He said he doesn't "feel that [he] can put aside things that [he] has learned over the last 6 or 7 years."

He said there are too many opportunities for flaws to present themselves, where he couldn't feel comfortable with the death penalty.

So for him there would only be two options on the table at sentencing: prison time and life in prison without parole.

He was dismissed, meanwhile several others have been asked to continue with the jury pool process.

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UPDATED 1:20 P.M.

A male potential juror just spoke with the court, but he's familiar with court proceedings.

He filled out his questionnaire and explained that he has been called to testify in court in the past on the whether or not someone suffers when given a lethal injection for a death penalty.

He is an anesthesiologist, and says personally he hasn't decided if the death penalty is a fair sentence.
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UPDATED 12:30P.M.

As the Judge and attorneys take a short break, the morning has consisted of 14 potential jurors with varying opinions on the death penalty.

A white female described on her questionnaire, that she believes "a good felon, is a dead felon."

She went on to tell the Judge and attorneys that "they're a waste of money" and the death penalty should be used "to go ahead and get rid of them."

That white female potential was let go.

On the other hand, was a white male who said he feels he could be a "fair and partial juror."

He described his feelings on the death penalty: "if someone takes another person's life, then the death penalty is OK." But he went on to explain that he would have to examine the evidence and the motive behind the killing, so he couldn't answer any questions about the guilt of Cobbins, and this case, until he was presented with all the evidence.

He said he was unfamiliar with this case, which Judge Baumgartner went on to explain they're seeking jurors from the Nashville area in hopes of finding an impartial jury pool.

This potential juror has been issued on to the next step, along with several others, and will come back Friday morning.

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UPDATED 11:35 A.M.

A black woman and potential juror was in tears talking with the Judge and attorneys about possibly facing gruesome photos and the idea of handing down the death penalty.

She filled out the questionnaire to say that she cannot stand the sight of blood, but the Judge explained to her that there are some very explicit photographs.

Judge Baumgartner pointed out that she would be required to view the pictures if she was picked.

But she went on to say that she doesn't feel she could ever hand down the death penalty.

After several questions from the Judge and attorneys, they released her to leave.

Other potential jurors have been told to come back Friday morning.

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UPDATED 11:15 A.M.

Potential juror number 4 is a female "officer of the court." She said she has defended people charged with the same crime as Letalvis Cobbins, and does not think she could hand down the death penalty.

She did say she would follow the law to the best of her ability, but does not know if she could morally face the judgment of sentencing someone to death.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Jury selection started Wednesday morning in Nashville, while attorneys seek out a jury that has not been influenced by the publicity of the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, in January of 2007.

Letalvis Cobbins is the first of four people who will stand trial.

An hour into questioning potential jurors, attorneys, and Judge Baumgartner have talked with several people.

Vanessa Coleman, George Thomas, and Lemarcuis Davidson are also accused in the murders of Christian and Newsom.

Eric Boyd was found guilty in Federal Court of accessory after the fact, in connection with the murders. He was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.

Volunteer TV's Heather Haley is in Nashville in the courtroom, and will bring you the latest like on First at 4:00.

You can also follow her Twitter updates at Twitter.com/HHaleyWVLT.