Two hours was all that was needed to select the jury for the trial of Chai Vang, who was charged last November with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Vang allegedly shot a group of nine hunters in Sawyer County, a county in northern Wisconsin, according to aurhorities.
However, County Circuit Judge Norman Yackel decided to move jury selection to Dane County in order to find jurors with less media exposure. In all, 10 female and 4 male jurors, all white, were selected from Dane County.
The group is now heading back to northern Wisconsin, where Saturday the trial begins in Hayward. The proceedings are expected to last a few weeks.
Gov. Jim Doyle was on hand at a Milwaukee military base Thursday to welcome some 90 Hurricane Katrina refugees to Wisconsin. Many of the evacuees, who arrived via a chartered airplane, were unaware of their Wisconsin destination until they were in the air. Wisconsin, along with Massachusetts and South Carolina, is among the first states to accept individuals uprooted by the hurricane. This particular group will be housed in the dormitories located at the State Fair Park.
The group was also greeted by the Red Cross and Salvation Army, who recorded refugees' identities and assessed their needs.
The Wisconsin Humane Society was on hand to attend to the 17 pets that arrived with the hurricane's victims. Many of the refugees landed with just what they could carry.
Although the refugees arrived Thursday, Doyle only received word they were coming Wednesday evening.
\We're going to work to make sure that they are safe, that they are able to get some sleep and that they're able to eat and that they get the medical attention that they need,"" Doyle said.
Madison police arrested Bright Jaja, 28, on the charge of abuse of a vulnerable adult Wednesday afternoon on the 1000 block of University Avenue.
According to police reports, a parking enforcement officer arrived in the area for a parking complaint when he observed a 68-year-old male lying in the back of a vehicle. The temperature at the time was reportedly 84 degrees.
Further investigation revealed the elderly individual has severe developmental disabilities and needs 24-hour care. Police allegedly waited over one and one-half hours for Jaja, the man's caretaker, to return before arresting him.
