Jonathan Allen

BRUNSWICK (Georgia) – On Thursday, a Georgia judge ruled that the jury for the murder trial of Ahmaud Arbery and three other white men will not be presented with a toxicology report that showed that Arbery had a trace amount of THC. This is a psychoactive component in marijuana.

Opening statements will be made by the jury in Glynn County Superior Court on Friday about the fatal shooting on February 23, 2020. This happened when Arbery was on Sunday afternoon running through Satilla Shores, a predominantly white neighborhood.

Timothy Walmsley, Superior Court Judge, heard Thursday arguments by defense and prosecution lawyers regarding what evidence could be presented to jurors.

According to Travis McMichael’s lawyers, Gregory McMichael’s father and William Bryan Bryan their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan claim the three men were acting in self defense after cornering and chasing Arbery at 25 years old.

After Arbery grappled initially with the shotgun, Travis McMichael (35) fired three more shots. Then, he turned around and ran. According to police, the men were trying make an arrest for someone who they believe looked like a burglar.

Arbery has been accused of having schizoaffective disorder. This condition can be caused by smoking pot. Arbery’s mental records were not admissible by the judge.

Cobb County’s district attorney’s office stated that Arbery was not found to have any alcohol, marijuana or cocaine in his body. A second test found 3.2 nanograms per milliliter of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, in his blood, which they called a tiny amount.

Linda Dunikoski was the leading prosecutor. She stated that she had no plans for the state to reveal to jurors the reports on toxicology and that it did not intend to disclose the THC results to them.

According to her, “Why Mr. Arbery did whatever he did is irrelevant.” The question is not about the defendants, but what they did. They had no idea about his system.

The selection of jurors for the Glynn County trial took over two weeks. This county is 70% white. A jury consisting of 11 White people and 1 Black person was assembled on Wednesday after an exhausting process.

The defense attorneys struck eleven of 12 potential Black jurors from the pool in the final round. This shocked prosecutors as well as Arbery’s backers. The court was not convinced that any of these 11 potential jurors had been selected for reasons unrelated to their race.

Benjamin Crump (a civil rights attorney who represented Marcus Arbery), said that Arbery’s father was outraged that Black jurors were deliberately exempted to make a more balanced jury, in a cynical bid to save these cold-blooded killers from justice.