AUGUSTA (AP) — Jury selection is getting underway in the murder trial of the first person in Maine to be forced to take psychiatric medication to restore his mental capacity.
Two days have been set aside for jury selection in the trial of Leroy Smith III.
Opening statements will be delivered on Monday, after the jury is seated.
Smith was required to take medication under a 2015 law that aims to restore the mental capacity of defendants so they can participate in their own defense.
He’s charged with killing and dismembering his father in Gardiner, Maine.
Smith told investigators he acted in self-defense because his father was poisoning his food.
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