GREAT WHITE Nightclub Fire: Jury Selection To Begin In Trial Of Nightclub Owner

September 3, 2006

Paul Edward Parker of The Providence Journal reports that the start of jury selection in the trial of Station nightclub co-owner Michael A. Derderian on Tuesday will mark the opening of what could be the most dramatic chapter of this tragedy since the night in 2003 when flames consumed the West Warwick nightclub during a GREAT WHITE concert and claimed 100 lives.

Witnesses at the trial will include not only experts and officials, but also survivors of the fire who will describe what it was like inside the burning building and how they struggled to stay alive.

The jury may even hear from the dead. Pretrial motions from prosecutors indicate they may play one or more recordings of cell-phone calls placed from inside The Station by people who perished.

And the defense has foreshadowed a spirited attack on West Warwick's fire marshal, who repeatedly failed to cite the nightclub's owners for installing highly flammable polyurethane foam as soundproofing on the building's walls.

But none of that drama will unfold immediately. Jury selection is expected to be a lengthy and laborious process. The first witnesses will not take the stand until next month.

Read the rest of the article at The Providence Journal.

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