Slow-moving jury selection continues in Ahmaud Arbery slaying trial
Dozens of prospective jurors have been dismissed from the Ahmaud Arbery trial as the grueling process of finding an impartial jury to decide the fate of his three accused killers continued for a fourth day Thursday in Georgia.
Prosecutors and attorneys were questioning their fourth panel of 20 prospective jurors after advancing 15 out of more than 50 interviewed this week. The goal is to advance a group of at least 64 people from which a final panel of 12 jurors and four alternates will be chosen.
The joint trial of ex-cop Gregory McMichael, his son Travis and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan is expected to last several weeks, drawing nationwide attention to the Glynn County community where Arbery was shot to death on Feb. 14, 2020.
The caught-on-tape killing sparked an outcry last year amid allegations of racism and corruption. The white suspects are accused of chasing, ambushing and murdering the 25-year-old Black man, who was unarmed and appeared to be jogging, but they were only arrested after a video of the incident emerged on social media.
Race has been one of the key themes of the jury selection process. Prospective jurors are facing a marathon of questions on how much they know about the case, whether they think the killing was motivated by racism and even their views on social media and guns.
Attorneys want a jury that can put their opinions aside and issue a verdict based solely on the evidence at trial — a challenging goal given how much news coverage of the case Georgians have been exposed to over the past year and a half.
On Wednesday, for instance, a prospective juror was asked to explain why he wrote in his jury questionnaire that the three suspects were “guilty.” He was dismissed after saying the trio “did it as a team” and appearing to give a thumb-up to Arbery’s father in the courtroom gallery.
Another challenge facing the court is the number of motions that remain public on the state’s judicial website. Members of the public, including those in the jury pool, still have access to a pile of documents related to the trial even though some of the evidence cited in those motions has been suppressed from the trial.
Arbery’s mental health records and prior criminal history are detailed in several documents easily accessible by anyone visiting the court’s website. Judge Timothy Walmsley has refused to allow either piece of evidence at the trial, but the information remained online Thursday, potentially exposing jury members to documents they are not supposed to see. If one does see the suppressed documents and ends up in the final panel of jurors, a mistrial could be declared, experts have said.
Court officials insist that a solution is in the works.
“We are aware of that issue, and the decision about that will be made by the judge,” Glynn County Superior Court Clerk Ronald Adams told VICE News.
Given the many challenges involving the case, the court has summoned about 1,000 people for jury duty, with 600 of them ordered to appear in court this week and 400 others told to be on standby in case the first round is not enough.
Judge Walmsley, noting that the case has three separate defense teams, has given each side extra peremptory strikes, or the right to reject a potential juror without offering a reason, during the final round of jury selection. Prosecutors will have 12 strikes while each defense attorney will have eight.
The McMichaels claim they were trying to carry out a citizen’s arrest when they decided to chase Arbery on a residential road outside Brunswick on Valentine’s Day last year and that Travis opened fire after getting into a scuffle with the victim, who they allegedly believed to be a burglary suspect.
Bryan, who recorded part of the incident on his phone, drove his own truck at the request of the McMichaels and even hit Arbery with the vehicle at one point as the trio tried to ambush him, authorities said.
The suspects have denied any racist motives.
With News Wire Services
