FORT DODGE – A man accused of stabbing a woman to death in Northwood has had his trial delayed again, as Iowa courts struggle to put together a fair jury.
Judge Colleen Weiland dismissed all the jurors called in to potential year the case of a first degree murder trial for 41-year-old Tyrone Washington Jr. The pool of 112 jurors were all white except one, and Wieland felt that Washington, who is black, wouldn’t get a fair trial without more representation from his own race. Jurors are picked through records from the Department of Motor Vehicles and voter registration records. Other sources to choose names for the next pool of jurors may be employed.
Tyrone Washington Jr. was charged with murder in the first degree, a class A felony in the 2013 death of Justina Smith. On August 5, 2013 at 11:41 AM, the Worth County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a female requesting help at Swensrud Park in Northwood, Iowa. Deputies responded to the area and located Smith with severe injuries. Deputies learned that the suspect, Washington, had fled the scene and taken the victim’s car, a silver 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix. He was later caught and arrested after a pursuit when he left Interstate 80 in Eastern Iowa and drove through corn and bean fields. Smith died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries, an autopsy revealed.
Washington’s trial was moved out of Worth county to Fort Dodge in order to secure a fair trial. That trial was supposed to start months ago, but Weiland granted a continuance until May of 2015.
INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
8 thoughts on “Back to drawing board in jury selection for accused stabber”
@LVS,We all know this cockroach is guilty as charged. The judge is only going through the formalities to prevent a challenge in the appeal process. Do you want it done right the first time or do you want to spend more taxpayers money along the way to reach the same inevitable conclusion?
Anonymous, hit the nail on the head. “Obviously there aren’t many Afro- Americans around here that are registered to vote.” If he did it, which seems to be the case, then why isn’t he guilty. Any race, that has any common sense, and sits on this jury should find him guilty.
A jury of HER (the vic) peers should be all white. That would be justice. Hang the bastard
What is wrong with this Judge? He didn’t care who was there when he killed this girl. They think they can come to Iowa and do whatever they want. This judge should be disbarred.
What a perplexing legal challenge. First of its kind for this region. So are blacks treated as Native Americans in the eyes of the government? If so shouldn’t they get their own reservations and legal codes? Weiland is undoubtedly influenced by national events. A crime is a crime, but race is a factor due to Whitey’s OWN past behaviors. Karma’s Catching up.
Sticking with the same logic, should Aaron Harris have been tried by jurors who were declared mentally incompetent or have mental illness diagnosis or substance abuse issues? If AA’s aren’t going to be categorized like NA’s, and no specific racism was found to be present, then he should be tried in house with randomly selected jurors. But racism is uniquely pervasive in its own dark and foreboding way.
“,….should Aaron Harris have been tried by jurors who were declared mentally incompetent or have mental illness diagnosis or substance abuse issues?”
Without question, that would have been a jury you would have been more than qualified to be a member of. I’d say you would have most likely been elected to serve as the jury foreman.
Now be gone like you promised.
What a waste of taxpayers money. Obviously there aren’t many African Americans around here that are registered to vote. A good share of them in North Iowa aren’t true residents of Iowa. They may still claim residency in Illinois, and Michigan. He shouldn’t get a different jury. But I guess it’s pretty typical of cut em loose Colleen Weiland.