BRUNSWICK (Ga.) — Three white men will stand trial for chasing Ahmaud, a 25 year-old Black man, and shooting him to death. The incident was largely unreported until a leak of a cellphone video sparked outrage and intensified national outrage about racial injustice.
After spotting Arbery running through their neighborhood, Travis McMichael (his adult son) armed themselves and chased him in a pickup truck. William “Roddie”, a neighbor, joined the chase. He shot Arbery three times using a shotgun.
After a series of fatal encounters between police officers and Black people, such as George Floyd in Minnesota or Breonna Taylor (Ky.), the killing is now part of a larger reckoning on racial injustices in the criminal justice system.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley intended to have the trial juror sworn in Friday for opening statements by prosecutors and defense lawyers. The three defendants are all on trial together and are being charged with murder as well as other felonies.
Arbery was dead for over two months before Bryan and McMichaels were arrested and sentenced to prison last year. Greg McMichael (a retired investigator with the local district attorney) told police that the men wanted to stop Arbery as they believed he was a burglar. He was caught on camera entering a nearby home that was under construction.
Greg McMichael claimed that his son killed Arbery in self defense after Arbery attacked him with his fists, and tried to steal Travis McMichael’s gun.
Prosecutors claim that Arbery was just out for a jog, was not armed, and has never been charged with any crime in the area. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assumed control of the case after Bryan’s video of his killing was posted online in May 2020. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Bryan and the McMichaels that day. Bryan was then charged two weeks later.
The murder of Arbery has been the focus of news stories in Brunswick and Glyn County. This is a coastal community of around 85,000 people.
The judge and his attorneys took 2 1/2 weeks to choose a jury. Nearly 200 jurors were summoned and interrogated about their knowledge of the case, the number of times they had seen it and any connections to Arbery and the defendants.
On Wednesday, the last day of jury selection, controversy erupted when prosecutors opposed a final jury of 11 black jurors and one white juror.
Although the judge acknowledged that discrimination appeared to have occurred, he stated that Georgia law limits his ability to intervene as defense attorneys had not provided any racial reasons why Black panelists should be excluded from the jury.
Thursday’s medical reason saw the removal of one juror, a white female. The trial will be heard by fifteen panelists, 12 jurors and three alternates. The race of alternate jurors has not been disclosed by the judge, and they weren’t asked to declare their race in open court.
Officials at the court have indicated that the trial could take up to two weeks.
Their legal problems won’t end if the defendants are acquitted. Federal hate crime charges have been brought against them. The trial is scheduled to begin February 7th by a U.S. District Court Judge.
