BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Three white men serving life in prison for murder after chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 returned to court Thursday to ask a…
Three white men serving life in prison for murder after chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 returned to court Thursday to ask a judge for a new trial.
Attorneys for Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and their former neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan began making a range of arguments for a new trial, from a tainted jury to ineffective counsel for one of the men. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley, who was the judge in their 2021 murder trial and handed down their sentences, set aside up to two days to hear their legal motions.
The McMichaels armed themselves with guns and jumped in a pickup truck to chase Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, after they saw him run past their house on Feb. 23, 2020, in a subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick. Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael firing shotgun blasts at close range into Arbery, who fell fatally wounded in the street.
Travis McMichael’s attorney, Pete Donaldson, told the judge Thursday he plans to present testimony showing one of the trial jurors “concealed his bias in favor of the Arbery family” when he was questioned during jury selection.
Donaldson said the man, identified in court only as juror No. 380, was interviewed by a private investigator working for the defense team in 2022. He said the juror said he prayed after the final jury was selected and he was the only Black member of the panel.
