Nearly four years after a panicked stampede at the E2 nightclub left 21 people dead, jury selection began Wednesday afternoon for the manslaughter trial of four operators of the now-closed club.

The early morning stampede occurred in February 2003 when someone at the club sprayed mace, causing many clubgoers to rush downstairs and out the front door. Allegedly, alternate exit doors were locked. More than 50 injuries also occurred in the mad rush.

The four defendants will stand trial on 63 counts each of involuntary manslaughter. They include club owner Dwain Kyles, his business partner Calvin Hollins Jr., manager Calvin Hollins III and party promoter Marco Flores. Each count carries a maximum five-year sentence.

Only Kyles chose a jury trial. The others relinquished that right in favor of a bench trial in which the judge determines innocence or guilt. Often, defendants choose a bench trial when assigned a lenient judge or when their case is strong on legal arguments.

Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Robert Egan will present the prosecution’s case against the four men simultaneously. The prosecution will question whether the club, which had faced numerous code violations before the incident, was operating legally.

For the defense, Kyles’ lawyer, R. Eugene Pincham, intends to argue the case is politically motivated and the city had been trying to shut down the club prior to the incident in order to ease the expansion of McCormick Place.

“This is a tragic incident, extremely tragic, but that does not make it a criminal case,” he said in a pretrial hearing.

Pincham also intends to show video and call witnesses who will say there was no chaos when the mace was sprayed, but only when someone yelled “poison gas,” causing everyone to rush out the door at once.

Also Wednesday, Raul Villalobos, Flores’ lawyer, filed a successful motion severing his client’s case from the other three, meaning the judge will not take into account evidence against Flores presented by the other defendants. Villalobos claimed that the defense arguments for the other men were antagonistic to his client’s case.

Opening statements are expected on Friday or Monday.

“I’ve been waiting three years” Flores said, referring to the time since his indictment. “I’m ready for this to be over.”