Georgia men who killed Ahmaud Arbery want new trial

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Three white men serving life in prison for murder after chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 return to court Thursday to ask a judge for a new trial.

Lawyers for Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their former neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan present a range of arguments for a new trial, from a tainted jury to ineffective counsel for one men. Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley, who served as a judge at 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 van to chase Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, after seeing him running in front of their home on Feb. 23, 2020, in a subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael firing shotgun blasts at point-blank range at Arbery, who fell mortally wounded in the street.

No arrests were made in Arbery’s murder for more than two months, until Bryan’s cell phone video leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case. the police. Arbery’s death comes amid a broader reckoning over racial injustice in the criminal justice system, as well as the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Defense attorneys argued at the Georgia trial that the armed chase was justified because the McMichaels and Bryan suspected Arbery of being a thief and sought to arrest him for the police. Travis McMichael testified that he opened fire in self-defense when Arbery attacked him with his fists. Police found no evidence that Arbery stole anything or committed other crimes in the neighborhood.

Travis McMichael’s attorney, Pete Donaldson, said in a legal filing that he plans to present evidence showing the jury’s verdict was tainted by “outside influences” and “superfluous prejudicial information.” The information was revealed during recorded interviews by a private investigator with three jurors in 2022, Donaldson wrote, without providing further details.

Greg McMichael’s attorney, Jerry Chappell, said he supported Donaldson’s efforts to question the fairness of the verdict.

Bryan’s attorney, Rodney Zell, argued in a written motion that Bryan’s attorney was ineffective. He noted that Bryan, on the advice of his previous attorney, agreed to be interviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Zell said Bryan was ill-prepared to speak with investigators and managed to “incriminate himself.”

Zell also wrote that the judge improperly barred defense attorneys from presenting evidence at trial of Arbery’s “prior bad acts.” Defense attorneys had sought to use evidence of Arbery’s past run-ins with law enforcement, including two arrests, as well as mental health records to argue that the McMichaels had justifiable concerns that he might be dangerous.

Walmsley ruled before trial that such evidence related to Arbery’s character was irrelevant in the murder case because none of the defendants knew him before the deadly chase.

The request for a new trial is a first step by the three defendants in challenging their murder convictions. Walmsley sentenced both McMichaels to life in prison without parole, while giving Bryan a chance for parole.

The men were also convicted of federal hate crimes in U.S. District Court after a separate trial in February 2022. The jury found that the trio targeted Arbery because he was black. Prosecutors presented two dozen social media posts and text messages, as well as testimony, showing the three men used racial slurs or denigrated black people.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March heard arguments from attorneys asking the court to overturn the hate crime verdict. A decision on the federal appeals is still pending.

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