700 people were summoned today for the jury selection on the murder-for-hire trial against Baton Rouge rapper Torrance “Lil Boosie” Hatch.
Out of the 700 people who showed up, 150 were chosen to fill out questionnaires about their religion, hobbies and personal interest in the case.
Hatch is accused of hiring a hit man, Michael “Marlo Mike” Louding to carry out the murder of Terry Boyd in October of 2009.
During a pretrial last Tuesday, Judge Michael Erwin ruled that the prosecution can use lyrics from Hatch’s records as evidence in the trial. Three specific lyrics are said to show personal intent in the first-degree murder trial: “187” “murk” and “cake.”
The defense argued that Hatch’s music had nothing to do with the case. The defense also eluded that the lyrics may have been altered in some way and for that reason the songs should not be played. Judge Erwin ruled that the prosecution cannot play the song in its entirety, nor can the full verse be read line for line. However, the three words in question can be used as evidence. Is this a case of freedom of speech or art imitating reality?
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