[JURIST] Four members of the Aryan Brotherhood [Wikipedia backgrounder] prison gang go on trial Tuesday in California as the government attempts to bring an end to the white supremacist group. Altogether, twenty members of the gang face eventual trial in what has been described as one of the biggest capital cases in US history: charges in the case [BBC backgrounder; 2002 indictment, PDF] include 32 murders and attempted murders over a 30-year period in jails across the US, making 16 defendants eligible for the death penalty.

Whether juries will sentence to death defendants already serving life sentences for other crimes is unclear, however, and prosecutors will have to contend with the likely repercussions of relying heavily on informants who themselves are serving time for serious crimes. AP has more.