![]() Most of them settled into the red-bricked Hanover Inn, then strolled through the famously beautiful campus to the top floor of the math department, where groups of white-shirted men were already engaged in discussions of a “strange new discipline”-so new, in fact, that it didn’t even have a name. “It was three persons who attacked one and no gun.In June of 1956, A few dozen scientists and mathematicians from all around the country gathered for a meeting on the campus of Dartmouth College. “He didn’t have no gun or nothing and he was by himself,” the juror said of Arbery. Another juror, a woman who works with volunteers, told lawyers she was somewhat “fearful” of the defendants, adding: “They’re driving around with a gun!”Ī railroad worker on the jury said he could fairly consider whether Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense, though he also noted Arbery was unarmed. One young woman called the cellphone video of the shooting “obscene,” saying: “there’s no reason someone should ever have to see someone else die.”Īn Air Force veteran who made the final jury panel said it was his impression that Greg McMichael was “stalking” Arbery. Other jurors expressed stronger reactions to Arbery’s death. “I don’t think the video is the whole story,” said one juror, a woman who works in retail and said she didn’t know enough to form an opinion about the case.Īnother juror, a retired government employee, described a conversation about the shooting with her husband as being “probably something that was like, `That’s too bad that happened.’” All said they could keep an open mind during the trial. Most of the jurors among the final 16 had previously told attorneys that they had seen the video, and many had read news stories about the case. Ronald Carlson, law professor at the University of Georgia, says people who have seen the viral video will not be permitted to be jurors. ![]() Attorneys in the trial of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan will have to ask whether jurors have already seen the viral video of the men fighting Arbery before he was killed. Warning: this clip contains video of the encounter that killed Ahmaud Arbery. Greg McMichael told police his son opened fire in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and grappled for Travis McMichael’s shotgun. They say Arbery had been recorded by security cameras inside a nearby house under construction and they suspected him of stealing. ![]() Bryan joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery three times with a shotgun.ĭefense attorneys say the men committed no crimes. The McMichaels armed themselves and pursued Arbery after spotting him running in their neighborhood. Defense attorneys cited those reasons for striking Black people from the jury pool. Some knew Arbery or other members of his family. Many expressed strong opinions about Arbery’s killing and their beliefs that race played a role. “I’m not saying it’s intentionally discriminatory, or if it was just the dynamic of this case, but it was a lot harder to get on this jury if you were Black than if you were white,” Pate said. "It's just another injustice that we face daily," she said on MSNBC, adding that she remains hopeful jurors will be open-minded.īlack potential jurors seemed to face greater scrutiny than whites as they were questioned by lawyers during jury selection, and the resulting jury likely favors the defense, said Pate, who practices in Atlanta and Brunswick. “It’s outrageous that Black jurors were intentionally excluded to create such an imbalanced jury,” Ben Crump, an attorney for Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said in a statement Thursday.Īrbery's aunt, Thea Brooks, said she wasn't surprised by the outcome. Supreme Court has held it’s unconstitutional to exclude potential jurors based solely on race or ethnicity. Prosecutors were allowed to strike a dozen people from the jury pool and defense lawyers got to cut 24, for virtually any reason save for one exception. The judge said the group of 48 used to narrow down the final jury had included 12 potential jurors who were Black. No ‘Blank Slate' Jurors in County Shaken by Arbery Slaying ![]()
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