HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Attorneys are working to pick jurors for the high-profile Apalachee High School shooting case.
Suspect Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, is on trial and jury selection is underway.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco was at the courthouse in Hall County, where a judge is using a unique tactic to find unbiased jurors to bring to the trial.
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Jurors are being picked in Hall County, but the trial itself will still be held at the Barrow County courthouse, in the same county that the shooting occurred.
For the second day, Barrow County attorneys are back in a Hall County courtroom to pick the jury.
“It’s usually only done in high-profile cases,” Defense Attorney Graham McKinnon said.
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The case could be considered high-profile. Colin Gray, as the father of accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, faces a slew of charges after his son was accused of killed two teachers and two classmates in September 2024.
Prosecutors argue that Colin Gray disregarded the risk of allowing his son access to a gun, knowing he could harm others. Colin Gray’s defense team said it will be impossible to find jurors in Barrow County who are unbiased and requested a change of venue in March.
Channel 2 Action News asked McKinnon to analyze the process.
“If you have a trial in Barrow County, too many folks have a personal connection to the crime,” McKinnon told Francisco.
To give Colin Gray a fair trial, the judge chose to pick jurors from Hall County and hold the trial itself in Barrow County, but it’s a 45-minute drive during rush hour to get from Hall County to Barrow County.
So, to ensure jurors show up at the same time, the judge decided courthouse staff will bus jurors to and from the Barrow County courthouse each day.
“The judge has decided it’s better to inconvenience the 12 jurors than to inconvenience everybody else,” McKinnon said of the decision.
Channel 2 Action News wasn’t allowed to have a camera inside the court during jury selection, the judge wants jurors to feel free to be candid when answering questions like:
- Has anyone purchased a gun for someone under 18
- Has anyone been affected by gun violence
- Has anyone thought it’s a parent’s fault when something terrible happens to a child
Colt Gray’s father, the one on trial, is paying close attention to their answers, wearing a suit and tie instead of the prison uniform he’s been seen in before.
The judge said they expect to pick a jury on Wednesday and start the trial Monday.
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