BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery are back in front of potential jurors again to face federal hate crimes charges.
Prosecutors named 34 potential witnesses Monday and the defense team has at least another six, not including potentially the defendants themselves.
But first, the judge must find a jury.
“It’s still the same battle. We are just going further up the hill. So we still haven’t got to the top yet,” attorney Clifford Jones said.
The Arbery family and legal teams did not attend day one of jury selection.
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Judge Lisa Godbey Wood spent the day questioning 50 potential jurors about their familiarity with the case and if they could sit as an unbiased juror.
Only one of the first 25 raised their hand saying they believed any of the defendants were already guilty of a hate crime.
Travis McMichael, his father Greg and neighbor Roddy Bryan are all serving life sentences after convictions last year for murdering Arbery.
He was shot in a videotaped chase and confrontation as he ran through a Glynn County neighborhood in 2020.
This trial focuses on federal charges accusing the men of racial hate crimes.
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The McMichaels had reached plea deals with prosecutors, but the judge rejected them last week.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told Channel 2′s Tony Thomas she didn’t know what to expect, but she is relieved to see all three men before another jury.
“If it’s just Roddy on Monday for jury selection and trial, how does that sit?” Thomas asked Cooper-Jones.
“Sitting through a trial for just Roddy will be disappointing. Roddy played a part in it, but he didn’t pull the trigger,” Cooper-Jones said.
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“You want to see all three men there?” Thomas asked Cooper-Jones.
“That is correct,” Cooper-Jones said.
We also got a glimpse at how long this trial may take. The judge told the potential jurors today she expects testimony to last 7 to 12 days once the group has been chosen.
Some 1,000 residents from across nearly a third of Georgia are being called in as potential jurors for the federal case.
It’s unclear how long the jury selection process could take. During the state trial, the jury selection process lasted more than two weeks.
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