Potential jurors in Grace Packer homicide must digest shocking crime, keep an open mind
February 25, 2019
"Juror No. 1 met all the requirements:
She agreed to listen to the facts and follow the law. She had no religious, moral or philosophical objections to the death penalty. And she had not read or seen any news stories on the rape and murder of 14-year-old Grace Packer.
Lawyers in the Bucks County courtroom where Jacob Sullivan will learn his fate next month seemed pleased Friday to have chosen a juror so quickly. But they would need to interview 58 more people before selecting juror No. 2 Monday.
In an unusual process, a jury is being seated with the limited task of deciding between two potential sentences for Sullivan — life in prison or the death penalty.
They will not be asked to determine if Sullivan is guilty, since the 46-year-old Horsham man pleaded guilty last week to first-degree murder, rape of a child, kidnapping, abuse of corpse and other crimes.
During this penalty phase, which is
set to begin March 14, prosecutors will lay out a streamlined version of their case, then Sullivan’s attorneys will present evidence about Sullivan’s mental health, his background, and their theory that Sullivan’s girlfriend and Grace’s adoptive mother, Sara Packer, masterminded the killing....
Lawyers must agree on 18 jurors — 12 regular panelists and six alternates — before the case can proceed....
Death sentences are automatically appealed. Currently, there’s a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Wolf’s Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment is expected to release the results of a study on the death penalty soon. No one has been executed in Pennsylvania since 1999.
As jury selection continued Monday, even some jurors who promised to keep an open mind and consider both sides’ arguments before deciding Sullivan’s sentence seemed to waver after hearing details of Grace’s death.
“They would really have to convince me of the mitigating circumstances,” one woman told the judge. “At this point I really don’t know if I could.”"
Potential jurors in Grace Packer homicide must digest shocking crime, keep an open mind
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