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Three Alternate Jurors Picked for Komisarjevsky Jury

Attorneys need to approve five more jury members to complete the selection process.

Three alternate jurors were picked for the Joshua Komisarjevsky trial jury on Wednesday and Thursday, according to sources at New Haven Superior Court.

That means defense lawyers and prosecutors only have to choose two more alternate jurors and three backup alternates.

Komisarjevsky, 30, is the second defendant to face the death penalty for the Cheshire home invasion triple homicide in 2007.

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His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, 47, was sentenced to death after being found guilty in a separate trial last fall.

The source said state prosecutors used one more peremptory challenge, bringing their total used up to 33. The defense has used 36 challenges so far.

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Each side gets 40 peremptory challenges to use during jury selection to excuse jurors without stating a reason. Usually the reason is because the attorneys feel the jury panelist might have a tendency to side against them.

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