Lil Boosie Update: Rapper Avoids Death Penalty

The first-degree murder trial for Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie will start on April 30 and prosecutors will use an anonymous jury.

Due to the high-profile nature of the case,  jurors will only be identified by numbers and not their names. Prosecutors say that Lil Boosie will also face a mandatory life sentence if he is convicted of the murder.

“It’s just something we thought would be better for the case and the jurors,” East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III told The Advocate.

“There’s no evidence of any threats against any potential jurors in this case,’’ added Martin Regan, one of the rapper’s lawyers. “We want to get a fair jury.”

Prosecutors claim Lil Boosie, born Torrence Hatch, hired Michael “Marlo Mike” Louding to kill 39-year-Terry Boyd, in October 2009.

Lil Boosie is curently held in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.