After eight days of testimony from 23 witnesses, the jury is in its second day of deliberations in the trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery
Jury asks to see video and hear the 911 call from the day of the shooting
From CNN’s Devon M. Sayers and Alta Spells
The jury is asking to see evidence that was presented during trial while they continue their deliberations on Wednesday.
The jury has asked to see the shooting video and hear the 911 call that Gregory McMichael made on Feb. 23, 2020, the judge said.
The jury foreperson asked the court if they could view each video three times, along with the 911 call.
The jury then entered the courtroom this morning and the judge read their request, which read:
“We, the jury, request to see the following videos three times each: One, the original video, the short version. Two, the enhanced high contrast version. We would also like to listen to the 911 call on to 2/23 made by Greg McMichael.”
The judge then discussed with the jury which versions of the video that they were interested in viewing. They told the judge that they wanted to see two versions of the videos played at trial.
The court then played each video three times. After viewing the videos, the jury listened to a version of the 911 call.
Lawyer for Arbery’s father: Remarks from defense attorneys were “arrogant” and “dog-whistle rhetoric”
Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney who is representing Ahmaud Arbery’s father, said one of the defense attorney’s remarks about Arbery’s appearance and hygiene was “dog-whistle rhetoric.”
Crump said the attorney described Arbery “as if he was a runaway slave, and they were allowed to chase him and make him comply or kill him.”
“And the only question that remains unanswered is if this jury is going to give us a Jim Crow verdict or they’re going to say to America we must be better than this in 2021,” Crump said on CNN’s “New Day.”
The remarks from Laura Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael — one of the three White men accused in the killing of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, in February 2020 — elicited gasps in the courtroom and prompted criticism from Arbery’s family and legal experts.
Crump also said remarks from another defense attorney, Kevin Gough, about not allowing Black pastors inside the courtroom were “arrogant.”
“It was the essence of White supremacy mentality — almost like thinking because a Black man is jogging, that ordinary White citizens can stop him and make him comply,” Crump said.
Watch:
A prayer vigil is being held as jury deliberates verdict
Several social justice and faith organizations are holding an online prayer vigil as the jury deliberates a verdict for the three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery.
The groups are also asking people to fast as they call for justice.
The trial jury — consisting of 11 White jurors and one Black juror — began deliberations Tuesday afternoon and will continue deliberating today on the charges facing Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of chasing and killing 25-year-old Arbery.
There are nine White women, two White men and one Black man serving on the trial jury, with two White women and one White man serving as jury alternates, according to CNN analysis of juror data.
Jurors have started their second day of deliberations
The jury in the trial of the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery has reconvened, and the members are starting their second day of deliberations.
The jurors spent just over six hours deliberating yesterday, beginning at 11:53 a.m. ET and ending around 6:20 p.m. ET.
The jury is considering charges against Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., who are charged with malice and felony murder in Arbery’s death. The 25-year-old Black man was jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, when he was fatally shot in 2020.
The jury will continue deliberations soon. Here’s what we know about the members.
The trial jury consisting of 11 White jurors and one Black juror will soon continue deliberating on the charges facing Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of chasing and killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.
There are nine White women, two White men and one Black man serving on the trial jury, with two White women and one White man serving as jury alternates, according to CNN analysis of juror data.
The 12-member trial jury and three alternates were selected after a protracted jury selection process that lasted two and a half weeks and included summoning 1,000 prospective jurors from the South Georgia coastal community.
Georgia’s Glynn County is about 70% White and 27% Black according to information from the US Census Bureau.
The makeup of the jury was challenged by the state at the conclusion of the jury selection process. Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski claimed defense attorneys disproportionately struck qualified Black jurors and based some of their strikes on race.
The judge overseeing the case said, “This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination,” but ruled that the case could go forward with the selected jurors because the defense was able to provide valid reasons, beyond race, for why the other Black jurors were dismissed.
Here’s a timeline of key moments in the Ahmaud Arbery murder case
The jury in the trial for Ahmaud Arbery’s 2020 killing will continue deliberations this morning.
Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. are charged with malice and felony murder.
Arbery’s killing sparked national outrage after a video of his shooting was made public. The 25-year-old Black man was out for a jog in Brunswick, Georgia, when he was fatally shot.
As we wait for a verdict to be reached, here’s a timeline of the case:
- Feb. 23, 2020 — Arbery is fatally shot: Arbery was shot dead in a confrontation with the McMichaels in the neighborhood of Satilla Shores, outside the city of Brunswick in Georgia’s lowcountry. Arbery was on a jog — something he was known to do, according to those who knew him — when the McMichaels grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery. The men claimed to be conducting a citizen’s arrest of Arbery. Bryan had also joined the pursuit and recorded the shooting on his cellphone.
- Feb. 27, 2020 — Brunswick Judicial Circuit sistrict attorney recuses herself: The day after the shooting, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself from the case, citing Gregory McMichael’s position as a former investigator in her office. The attorney general’s office says it received a letter from Johnson requesting the appointment of a new prosecutor on Feb. 27.
- April 7, 2020 — Second prosecutor recuses himself: Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill, who took over the case after Johnson rescued herself, sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office informing the office of his own conflict of interest: His son worked in Johnson’s office and had previously worked with Gregory McMichael on a previous prosecution of Arbery.
- April 13, 2020 — The case is transferred to a third prosecutor: After receiving Barnhill’s letter, the Attorney General’s Office appointed Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden to the case.
- May 5, 2020: Video of the shooting surfaces: The 36-second video begins with Arbery jogging down the middle of a street toward a pickup truck stopped in the road. Gregory McMichael is in the bed of the truck while his son is standing near the driver’s side door with a shotgun.
- May 7, 2020 — The McMichaels are arrested: Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault.
- May 11, 2020 — A fourth prosecutor takes over: The attorney general announced a fourth prosecutor, Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, would lead the case after Durden had asked to step down due to a lack of sufficient resources.
- May 21, 2020 — Bryan is arrested: Two weeks after the McMichaels’ arrests, the GBI arrested Bryan on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
- June 24, 2020 — All three suspects indicted on murder charges: Four months after the shooting, a Glynn County grand jury indicted Gregory and Travis McMichael and Roddie Bryan on malice and felony murder charges in Arbery’s death, District Attorney Holmes announced.
- July 17, 2020 — Suspects plead not guilty: All three pleaded not guilty to the charges they face in mid-July 2020.
- April 28, 2021 — Suspects are indicted on federal hate crime charges: In late April, federal prosecutors announced a grand jury had indicted the McMichaels and Bryan on hate crime and kidnapping charges.
- May 11, 2021 — Suspects plead not guilty in federal court: The McMichaels and Bryan all pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a hearing May 11. They remain in state custody, and the federal trial is set to begin February 2022.
- Nov. 5, 2021 — Opening arguments in the Arbery murder trial begin: After a long and contentious jury selection process in a coastal Georgia county, a panel of 12 people — consisting of one Black member and 11 White members — was chosen. The younger McMichael took the stand during the trial as the defense’s first witness and told the court he felt he was in a “life or death situation” when he shot Arbery. In her closing rebuttal, lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski emphasized to the jury that Arbery was accused of no crime and the defendants told police they knew of no crime he’d committed. Lawyers for the men charged with murder used their final statements to say the McMichaels and Bryan had reason to believe Arbery was up to no good because he’d entered an under-construction home and he ran when confronted.
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin, Devon M. Sayers, Alta Spells, and Christina Maxouris contributed reporting to this post.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/ahmaud-arbery-killing-trial-verdict-watch-11-24-21/h_68921246a3fdb55a7d412406a508101c
