Jury selection begins in death penalty case

CLEBURNE – Juror selection began Tuesday at the Guinn Justice Center in the first Johnson County capital murder case with the death penalty in play since 1996.
Nancy Hatch Weatherly was allegedly robbed and killed at her Godley home on or about June 30 by Mark Anthony Soliz, with Jose Clemente Ramos, who will be tried separately. The two men allegedly participated in several shootings, robbery and thefts of vehicles, including the killing of Fort Worth delivery truck driver Ruben Martinez before the killing of Weatherly.
Soliz is being held in the Johnson County jail on $2 million bond. He appeared in a dark suit and greeted potential jurors in court Tuesday. The case against the Fort Worth man will be tried in the 413th District Court, with Judge William Bosworth presiding.
"I'm scared. If you answer three questions right this man will die," lead defense counsel Greg Westfall said during his interview with Juror No. 1. "Have you done much thinking about the death penalty? You know that's what this is about."
Jurors selected from last week's panel will be interviewed by the court for about the next four weeks. The trial will take place in late February or early March, and is expected to last three weeks.
That led to the initial hang-up Tuesday. The case could potentially overlap spring break, which begins March 12 for most schools, which could lead to conflicts for some jurors. There is a likelihood jurors will be sequestered through the course of the trial, the court instructed jurors Tuesday.
Four jurors were interviewed Tuesday. The court intends to interview six per day until all jurors can be interviewed or a pool of 45-50 jurors can be found that would be narrowed to 12 jurors and two alternates.
Soliz would become only the third man Johnson County has sent to death row, according to records held by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Bobby Ray Hopkins, a New Mexico bull rider, was executed Feb. 12, 2004, for the 1993 Grandview slayings of Sandi Marbut and her cousin, Jennifer Weston. Marbut was cut about 40 times with a dull knife and Weston more than 60 times. Hopkins held his innocence through the execution.
Leonard Uresti Rojas was executed Dec. 4, 2002, for the 1994 Alvarado killing of his common-law wife, Jo Ann Reed, and his brother, David Rojas. Reed was shot between the eyes with a .32-caliber handgun and suffocated in their Alvarado home. David was shot three times. Rojas admitted on three occasions to the killings. He was convicted in the last Johnson County death penalty case in 1996.
It has not been decided if the death penalty will be an option in the case against Ramos. Four other capital murder cases are set for Johnson County this year.
There are 321 inmates on Texas' Death Row, none from Johnson County. The state has completed 477 executions since 1982, the year of the first execution since the death penalty was re-enacted in 1974.