Two men accused of second-degree murder will not have their charges reduced to manslaughter.

As the trial of Dean Boucher and Mark Lange began in Yukon Supreme Court this morning, each of the men said they are not guilty of the murder of Robert Olson in 2004.

Olson's body was found Dec. 27, 2004 in the Wolf Creek subdivision.

The Carcross resident's death was determined to have occurred between Dec. 23 and 24 of that year.

The lawyers for the two, Andre Roothman for Lange and Keith Pakkari for Boucher, each told the court their clients are prepared to enter a guilty plea to manslaughter.

Crown counsel is not willing to accept pleas on the lesser charge though, Crown lawyer John Phelps told Judge Leigh Gower.

With that, jury selection began.

Before the names of those in the two packed courtrooms were called, Gower told potential jurors in the case among one of the responsibilities citizens have is to act as jurors.

We are fortunate to live in a free country, the judge stated.

Trial by jury is a cornerstone of the laws in Canada and offers accused persons the chance to be tried by their peers, the judge said. The 12 people chosen for the jury will have to decide whether the accused are guilty or not guilty of the offence, said Gower.

Prior to the potential jurors being called, Phelps read out the names of 16 witnesses to be called during what's scheduled to be a three-week trial.

Jury selection continued through the morning with 10 (seven women and three men) selected by about 11:30 a.m. after 48 (35 women and 13 men) had been called.

Potential jurors were asked to declare any conflicts or whether serving as a juror would create a hardship.

Many pointed to finances or having already purchased travel tickets as creating hardships.

The jury selection was to continue after a short break in court this morning.