Juror replaced with alternate in Ahmaud Arbery slaying trial

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Twelve jurors, on with 3 alternates, volition beryllium seated and sworn successful Friday, erstwhile opening statements are expected successful the proceedings of the 3 men accused of chasing and sidesplitting Ahmaud Arbery, according to the judge.

There were 4 alternates, but Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley announced during a motions proceeding Thursday that 1 juror volition not beryllium capable to enactment owed to aesculapian issues and an alternate is present 1 of the progressive 12 members of the panel.

Throughout the hearing, the justice heard motions from some sides connected the grounds that helium volition let being shown successful court.

One was a question to contradict showing the assemblage camera footage of the 2nd serviceman to respond to the scene. Defense Attorney Jason Sheffield, who represents Travis McMichael, asked if it was indispensable to amusement the footage of Arbery’s body. Instead, helium wanted to amusement photos, saying the video is inflammatory. The authorities said it’s important to amusement the video due to the fact that it’s what took spot astatine that time. The justice denied this motion, allowing it to b shown. He did admit however graphic the video is.

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Earlier successful the day, Walmsley granted 2 requests by the authorities — a question to destruct the defense’s usage of unit adept witnesser and a question forbidding the defence from trying to usage the grounds successful a toxicology study to speech astir Arbery’s intelligence health.

The authorities ne'er planned to usage Abery’s toxicology report, prosecutors said, due to the fact that determination was thing successful his strategy but a tiny magnitude of THC. The defence argued THC tin origin aggression and confrontational behavior.

Sheffield said the toxicology study with THC could travel successful if attorneys find an adept who tin talk to the effect of THC without addressing Arbery’s intelligence wellness issues.

On the usage of unit expert, the authorities said that having this adept grounds would beryllium confusing and misleading due to the fact that nary of the defendants were instrumentality enforcement officers.

The defence argued Travis McMichael’s 10 years of acquisition successful the U.S. Coast Guard doesn’t conscionable spell distant and it didn’t substance if they were constabulary officers oregon backstage citizens.

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Outside the courtroom, household members and supporters of Arbery connected Thursday greeting again rallied extracurricular the Glynn County Courthouse arsenic the proceedings moved past assemblage selection.

The Transformative Justice Coalition besides commented astir the justice ruling Wednesday that he’ll spot 1 Black juror and 11 achromatic jurors to determine the trial.

“This is the Thursday aft what we present telephone the ‘Infamous Wednesday.’ ‘Infamous Wednesday’ volition spell down successful past arsenic the time that achromatic defence attorneys were allowed to support achromatic vigilantes by excluding 11 of the 12 Black jurors from work for reasons that marque zero sense,” said Barbra Arnwine, president and CEO of the Transformative Justice Coalition.

Later successful the day, the Transformative Justice Coalition marched from the courthouse done downtown Brunswick.

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Attorney Ben Crump released a connection Thursday, saying, successful part: “A assemblage should bespeak the community. Brunswick is 55% Black, truthful it’s outrageous that Black jurors were intentionally excluded to make specified an imbalanced assemblage successful a cynical effort to assistance these cold-blooded killers flight justice.”

The justice said that “this tribunal has recovered determination appears to beryllium intentional favoritism successful the panel,” but Walmsley said his quality to alteration the jury’s radical constitution was constricted due to the fact that defence attorneys were capable to springiness nonracial reasons for their decisions to onslaught the imaginable Black jurors.

Arbery was fatally changeable aft a achromatic begetter and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, spotted the 25-year-old Black antheral moving done their vicinity extracurricular the larboard metropolis of Brunswick connected Feb. 23, 2020. They equipped themselves and pursued him successful a pickup truck, and past a achromatic neighbor, Bryan, joined the pursuit successful different truck. No 1 was charged until 2 months later, aft Bryan’s cellphone video of the pursuit and shooting leaked online and stirred a nationalist outcry.

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Defense attorneys accidental the McMichaels and Bryan committed nary crimes. They accidental Arbery had been recorded by information cameras wrong a adjacent location and they suspected him of stealing. Greg McMichael told constabulary his lad opened occurrence successful self-defense aft Arbery attacked with his fists and grappled for Travis McMichael’s shotgun.

Investigators person said Arbery was unarmed and there’s nary grounds helium had stolen anything.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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