Jury Selection Continues In David Ware Trial

The third day of jury selection for the David Ware trial has finished. Ware is charged with shooting and killing Tulsa Police Sergeant Craig Johnson and shooting Officer Aurash Zarkeshan during a June 2020 traffic stop.

A case of this magnitude, which is widely know and a death penalty case, makes it harder and take longer to seat a jury. So far 20 of the 100 person jury pool have already been excused for various reasons; 50 of those haven’t even started answering questions yet.

The 100 people filled out a 14 page jury questionnaire on Monday and now they are being asked specific questions by the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys in groups of 25 potential jurors.

The three main issues they are addressing this week with the potential jurors are the death penalty, how widely reported the case has been in the news and on social media, and the length of the trial.

Some jurors have been excused because of the financial hardship it would cause if they were off work for a month. Others have been excused because they have followed this case and will not be able to put aside their opinions. Some feel very strongly about the death penalty.

They don’t have to have twelve jurors who have never seen or heard about the case. They need jurors who can put that aside and make their decision only on the evidence in the trial. This process will take several more days.