By Rich McKay

BRUNSWICK (Ga.) – Federal hate crimes trial jurors face a difficult task in proving the motivation of Ahmaud Albery and Ahmaud, a Black jogger who was shot in a predominantly white neighborhood in Georgia. Trial experts stated that this is a significant challenge.

The federal case against Gregory McMichael (66), Travis McMichael (36) and William “Roddie Bryan (52) will begin on Monday at the U.S. District Court, Brunswick (NYSE:).

Three men were found guilty of murder during a trial in the state last year. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting down Arbery in February 2020.

A jury will determine if racial bias was the reason for defendants’ actions in pursuit of Arbery. This issue wasn’t examined at the original trial.

According to the men, they wanted to make Arbery a citizen’s arrested when they drove through their neighbourhood in trucks and pursued him. Federal prosecutors are going to try and prove they pursued Arbery due to his race. A hate crime with a maximum life sentence, this is what the federal prosecutors want to show.

Ziv Cohen of Cornell University, who is a trial expert, stated that prosecutions must “get in the mind” of accused men to show that they were motivated by racial bias.

Cohen indicated that Cohen believes the defense would need to prove that the men only wanted to protect their community.

The men claimed that they chased Arbery (a jogging fanatic) because they believed he was fleeing from a crime. However, they did not have any evidence to support this claim. In that case, the prosecutor said that the men had unjustly drawn conclusions from Arbery’s skin.

Cohen explained that the prosecution had to prove to the jury bias and that there was a motive to commit a crime. The defense, however, has to counter that by presenting the same arguments from the state trial and claiming that their neighbors were in danger.

Nearly all federal court jurors stated to Judge Lisa Wood that they had heard about the case. However, they said that they could disregard any prior knowledge and make a decision based on what was presented.

Travis McMichael stated at last month’s hearing that he would plead guilty after reaching an agreement with the prosecutors to attack Arbery for his “race” and color.

Wood rejected the offer and he decided not to sign it. She said she couldn’t accept that McMichael was sentenced to thirty years in federal jail before McMichael was sent back to Georgia, where he would serve the rest of the murder-life sentence.

She stated that she needs more information in order to determine if a sentence of 30 years is just. Arbery’s emotional testimony was cited.

In the federal case L1N2U734Z, all three of them pleaded not guilty.

The intent of the prosecutors to present evidence not presented in the state trial is unclear. This includes Travis McMichael’s vanity plate with the battle flag that the Southern pro-slavery Confederacy flew during the 1861-1865 Civil War. It is seen by many today as an emblem of white supremacy and others as a reminder about their Southern heritage.

A Special Agent Richard Dial of Georgia Bureau of Investigation will testify before the court. He previously stated that Bryan said that Travis McMichael made a racist remark as Arbery was dying.