a georgia judge rules that ahmaud arbery's killers won't be allowed to share details of the black jogger's prior arrests at upcoming murder trial
A Georgia judge has ruled that defense attorneys for the three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery won't be allowed to discuss the victim's past arrests
A Georgia judge has ruled that defense attorneys for the three men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery will be barred from presenting evidence of the slain black jogger's past run-ins with the law during their clients' upcoming murder trials.
Gregory and Travis McMichael, a father and son, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan Jr are awaiting trial this fall for chasing and killing 25-year-old Arbery last year as he ran in their neighborhood outside coastal Brunswick. Jury selection is scheduled to start on October 18.
Attorneys for the McMichaels wanted the jury to hear about Arbery's two prior arrests to cast doubt on prosecutors' contention that he was merely an innocent jogger.
Defense attorneys say the white men reasonably suspected Arbery had committed a crime when they began the pursuit that ended in his death.
Prosecutors argued that defense lawyers were seeking to put Arbery on trial by making his criminal record and other prior legal problems part of the case. None of the three defendants knew Arbery, or anything about his past, prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors said his past was irrelevant to their decision to arm themselves and ultimately shoot a man who was trying to run away.
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(L to R) Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William 'Roddie' Bryan Jr are scheduled to go on trial in Georgia in October
In this image from video posted on Twitter on May 5, 2020, Arbery, left, struggles with Travis McMichael over a shotgun on a street in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on February 23, 2020
Arbery is seen stumbling and falling to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun
In a written order, Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley ruled evidence of Arbery's past run-ins with the law could unfairly 'lead the jury to believe that although Arbery did not apparently commit any felony that day, he may pose future dangerousness in that he would eventually commit more alleged crimes, and therefore, the Defendants' actions were somehow justified.'
'The character of victim is neither relevant nor admissible in murder trial,' the judge wrote in his ruling Monday.
Jason Sheffield, one of Travis McMichael’s lawyers, called the judge's ruling 'baffling.' He argued to that not allowing the defense to bring up Arbery's 'prior motives' would result in jurors being 'denied the truth,' reported Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The McMichaels pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after they spotted him running in their neighborhood on February 23, 2020. Bryan joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis shooting Arbery three times at close range with a shotgun.
Defense attorneys argue the three men committed no crimes. They say the McMichaels suspected Arbery was a burglar after he was recorded by video cameras inside a home under construction. Travis' lawyers say he shot Arbery in self-defense.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley ruled evidence of Arbery's past run-ins with the law is irrelevant and could be prejudicial
Arbery was unarmed when he was killed. Prosecutors have said nothing was stolen from the construction site and Arbery was merely jogging.
Defense attorneys have also asked the judge to let them introduce evidence Arbery suffered from a mental illness. Walmsley has not ruled on that request.
Arbery pleaded guilty to charges he carried a gun onto a high school campus in 2013, a year after he graduated.
Rodney Ellis, police chief for the Glynn County school system, testified at Wednesday's hearing that Arbery tried to evade officers on foot and stopped only when two of them pointed guns at him.
Arbery's record included a 2013 arrest for bringing a gun into a school gym, and a 2017 for trying to steal a TV from a store. He was on probation stemming from a shoplifting conviction at the time of his death
Lawyers representing the McMichales say the father and son (pictured in court) suspected Arbery was a burglar
He was also arrested in 2017 on charges that he tried to steal a TV from a Walmart store. Court records show he pleaded guilty to shoplifting. Arbery was on probation at the time of his death.
The McMichaels and Bryan weren't arrested in connection with Arbery's killing until 10 weeks later when a cellphone video of the shooting was leaked online and a national outcry erupted.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case the day after the video emerged and swiftly arrested the three men.
In a pretrial court hearing, prosecutors had presented evidence that racism may have played a role in Arbery's death.
Last June, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified that Bryan told investigators Travis had uttered a racist slur right after the shooting as he stood over a bleeding Arbery.
'Mr Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement, 'f***ing n-word,'' GBI agent Richard Dial testified.
Travis McMichael's attorneys have denied that he made the remark.