160 in Winkler jury pool

Why don't you ask who hasn't heard about it?" the woman suggested, smiling. Winkler, 33, is accused of the March 22, 2006, shooting of her husband, Matthew Winkler. Matthew, 31, was the minister at Selmer's Fourth Street Church of Christ at the time of his death. He died at the parsonage from a shotgun blast to the middle of his back.Lawyers will select Mary's jury from a pool of about 160 McNairy County residents. Farese said Monday that he thought jury selection would be over before the end of the week. The trial could last two to three weeks, according to Sue Allison, a spokeswoman with the state Administrative Office of the Courts. If convicted of first-degree murder, Mary would face a life sentence with parole possible after 51 years.Potential jurors were to report to McNairy County Circuit Court by 9:30 a.m. Monday. They were questioned seven at a time outside the presence of the larger group. Only 14 had been questioned when court ended at 6 p.m. None of the 14 were excluded, but one man was excused for the remainder of the day for medical reasons, Allison said.Circuit Court Judge Weber McCraw is keeping the 14 who have been questioned separate from the larger pool. He instructed them not to discuss the case or watch anything about it overnight and told them to report back to court at 1 p.m. today.Meanwhile, court resumes with jury selection at 9 a.m.The potential jurors questioned so far include a woman who lived near the Winklers who has been interviewed by the media. When asked in court if she knew Matthew, the woman said he had once threatened to shoot her dog if it didn't stay out of his yard. The woman said she told Matthew that she would try to keep the dog in her yard. She didn't think the incident would prevent her from being an impartial juror.Other potential jurors included a Baptist minister and a man who belongs to the Church of Christ. The minister expressed a concern he had during court."... I'm a minister, and I just don't feel right passing down judgment on somebody else," the man said.Assistant District Attorney General Walter Freeland asked him if he thought that would keep him from being a fair juror for the state. He said it wouldn't."I could be (a fair juror) if it's put on me," the minister said. "But I'd rather not be" a juror.Farese pointed out to potential jurors that the important question wasn't whether they'd heard of the case but whether they'd formed an opinion about it."I think all of you at one time or another have formed some kind of opinion ..." Farese said. "We can't live in a vacuum. These things happen. My question is simply this: Can you set aside those opinions and come through those doors and sit in this box and give Mrs. Winkler ... Look at me, Mary ... a fair trial just like you would want one of your loved ones to receive?"Can you do that?" Farese asked. "That's all I want to hear. I'm going to go a little further. Will you do that?"All the jurors questioned Monday either said they could do that or that they would try their best.Some of the questions lawyers asked Monday were general, such as whether potential jurors believed they'd give more weight to a police officer's testimony over a layperson's.Other questions were more specific to the case. For instance, they were asked whether they thought it was OK to lie to children to protect them from something hurtful. One juror didn't think that was OK. She indicated that she believed in telling children the truth.According to statements the Winkler children gave police, after the shooting Mary told the children that a bad man had robbed them and their father was in the hospital.Police have said Mary then left the parsonage and drove to Jackson, Miss., with the couple's three young girls. She had been headed to Baton Rouge, where the Winklers used to live, but had changed her mind by the next day and headed instead for Orange Beach, Ala. She was taken into custody March 23, 2006, in Orange Beach following a traffic stop.According to the children's statements to police, Mary also told her girls that she'd brought a gun with them on the trip to protect them from the bad man.Other questions were about whether jurors have had any experience with domestic abuse. Members of Mary's family have said they saw signs that Matthew physically and emotionally abused her, and her attorneys have said allegations of abuse will come out in the trial.One potential juror indicated that her daughter had been a victim in a longtime abusive marriage that finally ended in divorce.In Mary's statements to police, she didn't mention physical abuse, but she said that Matthew constantly criticized her."It was just building up to this point," Mary said. "I was just tired of it. I guess I just got to a point and snapped."Visit jacksonsun.com and share your thoughts.- Tonya Smith-King, 425-9680

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