BENTON, Ill. (AP) — Federal prosecutors are seeking more time to prepare for the trial of a southern Illinois man who they’re seeking the death penalty against in the killings of two bank employees. The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports a federal judge on Thursday agreed to postpone 30-year-old James Watts’ trial. It was to be Aug. 17 but a new date will be set at a hearing on May 27. Prosecutors say their decision to pursue the death penalty makes the continuance necessary. The Cairo man has pleaded not guilty to charges filed in connection with the holdup at the First National Bank branch in Cairo. He is accused of stabbing two employees to death and critically injuring a third employee during the botched bank robbery last May.

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