Navy rape case stalls on jury selection

WASHINGTON — The court-martial of a former Naval Academy football player accused of sexually assaulting two female midshipmen stalled before it started Tuesday after all five new prospective jurors were deemed unfit to join the four military officers who made it through the screening process Monday.

Before the trial of Kenny Ray Morrison, 24, can get underway, the judge and lawyers today will have to screen a third pool of jury candidates in hopes of acquiring a fifth member.

Four of the five who came to the courtroom in the Washington Navy Yard were eliminated after they told a military judge they would be inclined to kick Morrison out of the Navy if he was found guilty, even if they were given other instructions at the time of deliberations.

The fifth candidate was rejected after he told a Navy prosecutor that he could not vote to convict the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt if the case boiled down to an alleged victim’s testimony.