Jury seats filling up for 2nd Sapry murder-insanity trial

LACONIA — By noon on the first day of voir dire in the second murder trial of Hassan Sapry, the state and defense had selected three jurors.  

“Alright,” Belknap Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard said, about 20 minutes into proceedings Tuesday morning. “We’ve got our first juror.”

The voir dire process during jury selection involves asking detailed questions of potential jurors, one at a time, inside the courtroom, before defense attorneys and state prosecutors and Leonard.

Individuals, after answering questions posed to them by each of the parties, are either stricken and excused, or told to return for service next week for trial. 

Core questions asked of potential jurors on Tuesday morning centered around their willingness to conduct themselves in a fair and impartial manner, their openness to hearing and consulting evidence presented during trial, any potential biases each individual may hold, and their gut feeling regarding the issue of insanity as it pertains to a legal defense.

Sapry, 27, is accused in the 2019 killing of Wilfred Guzman Sr. in Laconia. He previously stood trial in 2022, but that process ended in a mistrial amid questions of mental competency. 

Sapry is invoking an insanity defense in the case, meaning jurors will be tasked with deciding if he’s not guilty by reason of insanity. The burden of proof rests upon the defense team, who must convince jurors Sapry was in fact insane when the crime was committed. Sapry is represented by attorneys Mark Sisti and Amy Ashworth.

“There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever, none at all, that Hassan killed somebody,” Sisti said to one potential juror, in emphasizing the importance of making each party meet or exceed the legal burden of proof required for a jury to come to a decision. 

“If they don’t make their burden, then you have to say, ‘not guilty,’” Sisti said to a potential juror later on in the morning.

The state, represented by prosecutors Jeffery Strelzin and Alexander Kellermann, also has a significant burden of proof — that Sapry committed a crime, beyond a reasonable doubt. Sapry is charged with nine offenses, including first- and second-degree murder. 

Indictments are allegations and do not imply an individual’s guilt. All defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

One by one, jurors entered Courtroom 1 at Belknap County Superior Court downtown on Tuesday morning, and were either accepted to serve on the jury through trial, or excused. Each side had five minutes to interrogate potential jurors — a courthouse clerk signaled the expiration of time by raising red and yellow folders. 

Sapry entered the courtroom just before 9:30 a.m., free of shackles and wearing a red polo and black pants, Sisti and Ashworth by his side. The first potential juror entered at 9:35 a.m.

Attorneys asked jurors questions like "how do you feel about being a juror?" and "You won’t be able to ask questions during trial, how would you handle that?" Both sides paid careful attention to their responses, scratching notes with pen and paper and trading whispered observations with their colleagues. 

Sisti, on numerous occasions, asked jurors how they’d feel interacting with violent, graphic materials like photographs, whether they’d be open-minded in learning about Sapry’s background and time as a child in Baghdad, Iraq, and if they’re familiar with an insanity defense in court. 

“This is an NGI case, a ‘not guilty by insanity case,’” Sisti informed potential jurors. 

“Our case is based primarily on Hassan’s mental health problems and they go way back,” Sisti told one potential juror, noting those health issues went untreated for many years and were not related to consumption of drugs or alcohol, but rather with traumatic experiences in his youth. Sisti referred to post-traumatic stress disorder several times, and asked potential jurors if they’re familiar with the concept. 

Sisti also told several potential jurors that some of the initial jury pool were excused from service because they indicated they don’t believe an insanity defense is legitimate, and others harbored strong feelings regarding refugees and immigrants — Sapry is apparently both.

One question Sisti asked all potential jurors: "Can you promise, right now, that if selected, you would give [Sapry] a fair trial?" By noon, nearly all potential jurors had answered Sisti affirmatively. 

The trial is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19.