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Opening Statements Expected Tuesday In Poutre Case

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Nov 3, 2008 8:20 pm US/Eastern

Opening Statements Expected Tuesday In Poutre Case

BOSTON (AP) ― A jury has been selected in the trial of a man accused of severely beating his stepdaughter, in a case that led to a right-to-die battle and reform of child welfare laws in Massachusetts.

Jason Strickland faces assault and battery charges stemming from the injuries of his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Haleigh Poutre. Opening statements in his trial are scheduled for Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Strickland and his late wife, Holli Strickland, beat the girl so severely in September 2005 that she went into a coma. Doctors thought she would never recover.

The state was criticized for seeking to remove the girl -- who was then 11 years old -- from life support. Her condition has since improved.

The case sparked a massive overhaul of the state child welfare system.

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