[h=1]Florida teenager accused of killing two British tourists goes on trial[/h]
Shawn Tyson, 17, alleged to have shot James Kouzaris, 24, and James Cooper, 25, in Sarasota last year
A teenager charged with the murder of two British friends as they enjoyed a Florida holiday almost a year ago will go on trial on Monday as prosecutors hope to uncover the truth about the men's final moments.
Shawn Tyson, whose 17th birthday is also on Monday, is accused of shooting James Kouzaris, 24, and James Cooper, 25, both former students at the University of Sheffield, during a confrontation in Newtown, a ghetto in Sarasota, in the early hours of 16 April 2011.
Although Tyson was arrested and charged soon after the killings, detectives were unable to establish exactly what led the victims into the crime-plagued neighbourhood 12 miles from their holiday home in upmarket Longboat Key after a night out.
Inquiries were hampered by the community's distrust of the police and an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, while key eyewitness testimony against Tyson was secured from a neighbour only after she was moved into a home outside the area for her own safety.
"Witnesses were very reluctant at first, mostly because of the fear of retaliation or the no-snitching rule," said assistant state attorney Karen Fraivillig, who will present the prosecution's case.
Tyson, who denies two counts of wilful premeditated murder, faces a life sentence if convicted. The trial is expected to last a week and a half. Although he is being tried as an adult, Florida law prohibits the death penalty for anyone under 18 at the time of a crime.
Cooper, a part-time tennis coach from Warwick, and Kouzaris, a seasoned traveller from Northampton, who had recently spent time in Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador, had been in the US for about 10 days of their three-week holiday and were staying at an apartment with Cooper's parents.
Prosecutors scored a significant victory at a pretrial hearing last week when circuit court judge Rick DeFuria said he would allow jurors to hear details of an incident on 7 April 2011 in which Tyson is accused of using the same gun to shoot at the car of a family with whom he was feuding.
Community leaders say the murders have led to improvements in the Newtown area, including the installation of video cameras on street corners that they say have helped reduce crime.
"As unfortunate as this was, and as hard as it was that this happened here, the community has come together and is working together with a new feeling of optimism," said the Rev Wade Harvin, chairman of Newtown's community development board.
"People realise that we have to work collectively with the police to make sure that the crime rate drops and not live in fear of over-the-top individuals."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/murder-trial-florida-shawn-tyson
And Jesse Jackson says African Americans are under attack.
Shawn Tyson, 17, alleged to have shot James Kouzaris, 24, and James Cooper, 25, in Sarasota last year
A teenager charged with the murder of two British friends as they enjoyed a Florida holiday almost a year ago will go on trial on Monday as prosecutors hope to uncover the truth about the men's final moments.
Shawn Tyson, whose 17th birthday is also on Monday, is accused of shooting James Kouzaris, 24, and James Cooper, 25, both former students at the University of Sheffield, during a confrontation in Newtown, a ghetto in Sarasota, in the early hours of 16 April 2011.
Although Tyson was arrested and charged soon after the killings, detectives were unable to establish exactly what led the victims into the crime-plagued neighbourhood 12 miles from their holiday home in upmarket Longboat Key after a night out.
Inquiries were hampered by the community's distrust of the police and an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, while key eyewitness testimony against Tyson was secured from a neighbour only after she was moved into a home outside the area for her own safety.
"Witnesses were very reluctant at first, mostly because of the fear of retaliation or the no-snitching rule," said assistant state attorney Karen Fraivillig, who will present the prosecution's case.
Tyson, who denies two counts of wilful premeditated murder, faces a life sentence if convicted. The trial is expected to last a week and a half. Although he is being tried as an adult, Florida law prohibits the death penalty for anyone under 18 at the time of a crime.
Cooper, a part-time tennis coach from Warwick, and Kouzaris, a seasoned traveller from Northampton, who had recently spent time in Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador, had been in the US for about 10 days of their three-week holiday and were staying at an apartment with Cooper's parents.
Prosecutors scored a significant victory at a pretrial hearing last week when circuit court judge Rick DeFuria said he would allow jurors to hear details of an incident on 7 April 2011 in which Tyson is accused of using the same gun to shoot at the car of a family with whom he was feuding.
Community leaders say the murders have led to improvements in the Newtown area, including the installation of video cameras on street corners that they say have helped reduce crime.
"As unfortunate as this was, and as hard as it was that this happened here, the community has come together and is working together with a new feeling of optimism," said the Rev Wade Harvin, chairman of Newtown's community development board.
"People realise that we have to work collectively with the police to make sure that the crime rate drops and not live in fear of over-the-top individuals."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/murder-trial-florida-shawn-tyson
And Jesse Jackson says African Americans are under attack.