JACKSON - The bill expanding the jury pool for capital cases in Mississippi was killed in Conference Committee recently, but Senator Lydia Chassaniol said she is determined to find a solution to Montgomery County's shallow jury pool.

Earlier this session, after a bill expanding the jury pool in capital cases to the entire circuit court district passed the Mississippi Senate, the House of Representatives Judiary A Committee chairman, Rep. Edward Blackman pocket vetoed the bill, and it was never called to a vote on the House floor.

According to Chassaniol, an amendment was made to HB 621 to include the measure. Senator Joey Fillingane, the chairman of the Senate's Judiciary A Committee, made the amendment to the house bill, and it passed the Senate.

HB 621 was taken to conference, and it was rejected by the Conference Committee.

"The bill went through the Senate fine," Chassaniol said. "Then it went to the House and was killed the first time. We added an amendment to another bill, and it was killed a second time."

Chassaniol said she will continue to work for a solution to some counties' small jury pools and the effect they have on capital trials.

"Jury selection is something that needs to be addressed because we aren't the only county that has suffered financial hardships from [multiple trials for the same capital murder]," Chassaniol said. "Montgomery County has spent $300,000 on [the Curtis Flowers' trial]," Chassaniol said. "Just think what our county could do with $300,000 - not to mention the on-going agony of the victims' families and the family of the accused."

With the five trials - three overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court and two hung juries - completed in the case of Curtis Flowers for capital murder, the Montgomery County jury pool has become quite shallow, and Chassaniol and Rep. Bobby Howell have worked diligently to find a solution to the county's problem.

Howell's bill HB 302 never made it to the jury floor before also being killed in committee.

"We will wait until next year," Chassaniol said. 'We are just going to try a different direction."