The judge overseeing the trial for three white defendants accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, in February 2020 again rejected requests to declare a mistrial and bar high-profile visitors from watching the proceedings on the courtroom gallery, the Associated Press reported.
Defense lawyers for father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan began presenting their case after the prosecution concluded eight days of witness testimony Tuesday afternoon.
Defense attorneys asked Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley to have high-profile civil rights leaders view the trial via video in a separate room in the courthouse, claiming that they could alter the jury’s decision. The issue was renewed Wednesday when Reverand Jesse Jackson sat with Arbery’s parents in court for the second time this week, the AP reported.
Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, said that the civil rights leaders “represent part of a national conversation” on racial injustice that has called for the “conviction of the defendants.”
“And for that reason, I do not think they should be present in the courtroom,” Sheffield said.
Walmsley denied the appeal, as well as requests from all three defendants to issue a directed verdict that would acquit them of their murder charges because of claims that the prosecutors’ case was legally insufficient.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Stephen B. Morton/AP Photo
Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and jumped in a pickup truck to pursue Arbery after he ran past their home from a nearby house under construction on February 23, 2020. Bryan, the neighbor, joined the chase in his own truck, telling police that he tried to run Arbery off the road and then recorded cellphone video as Travis McMichael fired three shotgun blasts before Arbery fell facedown in the street.
Bryan’s attorney, Kevin Gough, argued on Wednesday that Arbery seemed suspicious to his client because he didn’t call out for help as the McMichaels chased him past Bryan’s front porch where Bryan was working.
“Mr. Arbery has the opportunity, before Mr. Bryan even understands what’s going on, to speak and say, ‘Help! Call 911!'” he said.
Gough added: “That doesn’t happen.”
Gough also suggested that Arbery was up to no good.
“When Mr. Arbery passes Mr. Bryan’s house, with all due respect, we know why,” he said. “And I think we can all discern that from the evidence.”
Arbery, 25, had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing to study to become an electrician like his uncles when he was killed.
The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a burglar because security cameras had recorded him several times in the unfinished house on their street. Defense attorneys said Travis McMichael opened fire in self-defense after Arbery attacked him by throwing punches and trying to grab his gun.
Stephen B. Morton/AP Photo
Judge in Ahmaud Arbery Trial Again Denies Defense Mistrial, Ban of High-Profile Visitors
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