Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) -- Jury selection has begun in the trial of a man accused in the 2004 fatal beating of a youth home counselor.
Sean Graham was charged along with Jesse Simmons in the beating of Anson Arnett, a counselor at their Cedar City group home.
Police say Graham and Simmons, both 17 at the time, hit Arnett in the head with a baseball bat and locked him upside down in a closet. They fled the home in a van and were arrested in Las Vegas. Arnett died of his injuries the next day at a Salt Lake City hospital.
Simmons pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder in 2005 and was sentenced to five years to life in prison.
But Graham, now 20, pleaded not guilty to capital murder. A judge lowered the charge to first-degree felony murder, but prosecutors appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court overturned that decision and said Graham could be tried for capital murder.
Prosecutors have said they won't seek the death penalty because of Graham's age at the time of the alleged crime.
His trial is scheduled to begin tomorrow and could last until June 1.
------
Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
