Jury selection ended and we heard opening arguments this week in the trial of three white men accused of killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery while he was out jogging in their neighborhood. Racial considerations have been on the table from the first day through questions to potential jurors and motions by the defense attorneys and prosecutor. A jury of 11 white residents and 1 Black was seated in a flurry of defense moves the judge even called into question as discriminatory.
However, Judge Tim Walmsley acknowledged that current law restricted his ability to do anything about it. The jury’s racial disparity sparked a number of stories discussing “the Old South,” but others were clear that racism has played a role in trials across the country.
The press gaggle in Brunswick is so large that it’s taken over Veterans Park across the street from the Glynn County Courthouse. And, most of the broadcast and print journalists you’ll see reporting from there don’t ever go in the courthouse. They watch the court video feeds and receive notes from a pool reporter inside the courtroom.
The Current has a designated Arbery case web page where you’ll find a live feed to the courtroom, a timeline of events, stories that give context and background from The Current and many other outlets.
Bookmark this page to visit each day.
This story is published through a content partnership with The Current.