Several potential jurors in the Chattanooga federal court admitted that were "nervous," and expressed other signs of discomfort when they were asked if the were capable of sentencing Rejon Taylor to death.

Taylor is accused in the 2003 carjacking kidnapping and murder of Atlanta restaurant owner Guy Luck.

Prosecutors say Taylor and his two co-defendants robbed Luck as he drove in Buckhead in his van. They took Luck and the vehicle at gunpoint, then drove to Tennessee.

One of the accused killers says the plan was to release Luck in Chattanooga and let him find his own way back to Atlanta. But Luck, who owned the Violette restaurant on Clairmont Road, "jumped" his assailants, and was shot to death.

Taylor is facing a rare federal death penalty trial. His co-defendants are scheduled to testify against him.

Jury selection began on Monday, and, by all indications, it will be a slow process.

"We're basically asking you to bury your soul," defense attorney Lee Ortwein told potential jurors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Neff spoke to the jury pool, saying "the philosophical discussions you've had in the past have now become sort of reality."

Some jurors said they would not budge from their views on capital punishment. Others seemed more hesitant.

Jury selection is expected to take about a week. The trial is expected to last six weeks.

August 26, 2008

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