They had been robbed, sexually assaulted and shot in the head, prosecutors and police said. Questions have swirled over what led the attackers to their victims. Some people, many from distant cities, asked why prosecutors and the media weren't portraying it as a potentially racially motivated crime because the victims were white and the defendants are black. Prosecutors said the victims were chosen randomly. A dull roar continues to rumble within the community.
Some citizens demand swift justice for the vicious homicides.
Implicit in that sentiment is an assumption that the defendants are guilty. To gauge public opinion, defense teams sometimes hire experts to conduct scientific surveys. In order to win a change of venue, or location, for a trial, a defense lawyer must provide clear evidence that the pool of prospective jurors is too prejudiced to be fair. It's not enough to show that there has been extensive news coverage or rumors, said Jean Phillips, an expert on appeals and director of the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project at the University of Kansas School of Law. You have to be able to show that there's prejudice in the community, that there's a reasonable certainty that the defendant can't get a fair trial.