DIRTY DEFENSE

Ahmaud Arbery’s Past Legal Issues Can’t Be Included in Murder Trial, Judge Rules

Arbery’s alleged killers, who did not know Arbery at the time of his death, wanted to use the information to argue they had reasonable suspicion he had committed a crime.

A Georgia judge has ruled that the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery can’t present evidence of Arbery’s past legal issues, as the indictment of Arbery’s character was “neither relevant nor admissible in murder trial.” Gregory and Travis McMichael, along with neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., were charged with chasing and killing Arbery as he ran away from them last year while jogging. In a written order, Judge Timothy Walmsley said the inclusion of such evidence could convince a jury that Arbery could be dangerous in the future and “therefore, the Defendants’ actions were somehow justified.”

Defense attorneys had wanted to bring up Arbery’s legal issues, including how he tried to steal a TV in 2017, to show that the trio reasonably believed Arbery committed a crime that day. Prosecutors argued that the information was irrelevant, as none of the men knew Arbery or his past that day and it didn‘t justify their pursuit and shooting of him.