Georgia men who killed Ahmaud Arbery want new trial

Three white men serving life in prison for murder after chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 are returning to court Thursday to ask a judge for a new trial.Attorneys for Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and their former neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan are making a range of arguments for a new trial, from a tainted jury to ineffective counsel for one of the men.Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley, who was the judge in their 2021 murder trial and handed down their sentences, has set aside up to two days to hear their legal motions.The McMichaels armed themselves with guns and jumped in a pickup truck to chase Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, after they saw him run past their house on Feb.

23, 2020, in a subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick.Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael firing shotgun blasts at close range into Arbery, who fell fatally wounded in the street.No arrests were made in Arbery’s killing for more than two months, until Bryan’s cellphone video leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from police.

Arbery’s death became part of a broader reckoning on racial injustice in the criminal legal system along with the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.Defense attorneys argued during the Georgia trial that the armed pursuit was justified because the McMichaels and Bryan suspected Arbery was a thief and sought to detain him for police.Travis McMichael testified that he opened fire in self-defense when Arbery attacked with his fists.

Police found no evidence Arbery had stolen anything or committed other crimes in the neighborhood.An attorney for Travis McMichael, Pete Donaldson, said in a legal filing that he plans to present evidence that the jury’s verdict was tainted by “outside influences” and “extraneous prejudicial information.” The information came to light in a private i...