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Jury choice begins Monday for the three Georgia males accused within the dying of Ahmaud Arbery, greater than a 12 months and a half after he was shot lifeless whereas jogging by way of a neighborhood close to his dwelling.
Arbery’s mom, Wanda Cooper-Jones, has lengthy maintained that her son was focused and killed by the three males, who’re white, due to his race.
“I do suppose that Ahmaud was murdered as a result of he was Black,” she mentioned in an interview with CBS This Morning. “He was jogging by way of a predominantly White neighborhood and he was focused.”
Greg and Travis McMichael, a white father and son, allegedly armed themselves and pursued Arbery, 25, in a pickup truck after seeing him operating of their neighborhood outdoors of Brunswick, Georgia on February 23, 2020.
Following behind, neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan recorded the incident, taking cellphone video of Travis McMichael taking pictures Arbery at shut vary with a shotgun. The pair mentioned they believed Arbery was a burglar.
“Everybody that has watched the video merely says that Ahmaud was not doing something unsuitable,” Cooper-Jones mentioned.
When requested if she believes an neutral jury could be chosen within the three males’s trial, Cooper-Jones admitted she is worried.
“I’ve my considerations, being that the jurors will likely be picked from this neighborhood,” she mentioned. “There was a number of miscommunication to start with on what occurred on that day, however I am hopeful that we’ll get the precise individuals in the precise place to make the precise resolution.”
Instantly following the taking pictures, the McMichaels and Bryan remained free and weren’t charged till the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case. In Might 2020, all three had been charged with homicide and can face trial starting Feb. 7, 2022.
Moreover, all three males have been indicted on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges.
Cooper-Jones’ legal professional Lee Merritt mentioned the jury “ought to mirror the variety of the Brunswick neighborhood close to the place this crime occurred.”
“Simply since you’ve heard about this case, simply since you’ve developed an opinion of the case, does not imply that you would be able to’t set that opinion apart and say, ‘I could be honest.’ And that is the authorized normal,” he mentioned.
Based on CBS News, jury choice may take greater than two weeks as 1,000 individuals had been summoned.