Baton Rouge court officials are pulling out all the stops for the high profile murder trial involving rapper Torrence "Lil Boosie" Hatch.
According to Louisiana's KATC, the first order of business has been securing an anonymous jury for the trial, which is set to begin at the end of next month. Choosing a jury in this manner is a rare practice in the small southern town.
Boosie has been behind bars since June 2010 as he awaits trial for first-degree murder. Prosecutors are trying to prove that he hired Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding" to kill Terry Boyd in October 2009.
Since being locked up, the "Wipe Me Down" rapper has pled guilty to drug charges, including three counts of conspiring to bring drugs into a penal institution for which Judge Mike Erwin sentenced him to eight years in prison. Investigators say the rapper tried to smuggle drugs into Louisiana's Dixon Correctional Center once and into the Angola State Penitentiary twice.
Boosie is currently being held in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He is no longer facing the death penalty, but could serve life in prison if convicted. The murder trial begins April 30.
