Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump slams defense attorneys in Ahmaud Arbery trial for painting the jogger as 'a runaway slave': 11 white jurors and one black deliberate for a second day
- As the jury in the murder trial deliberates for a second day in the murder trial for Ahmaud Arbery's, civil rights attorney Ben Crump slammed the defense team
- He said that they have tried to 'latch onto a racist rhetoric' as a way to influence the jury, made up of 11 white and one black juror
- 'She didn't just paint him as a criminal, let's be clear about that. What she tried to do was paint him as a runaway slave,' he said
- Travis McMichael, 35, his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, and neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan Jr, 52, have all pleaded not guilty to one count of malice murder
- The jury was sent out at midday on Tuesday and deliberated for six hours
- They appeared briefly in court this morning before being sent out again
- Crump believes a verdict will be delivered today
Ahmaud Arbery was killed after gunman Travis McMichael and his former cop father Gregory McMichael got 'mad' because the black jogger wouldn't stop and answer questions, their murder trial heard Tuesday
The defense attorney for one of the men on trial for murdering Ahmaud Arbery has been slammed by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump for 'trying to paint him as a slave' when she described him as having 'long, dirty toenails' and accused him of being a criminal.
As the jury in the murder trial deliberates for a second day, civil rights attorney said that defense team for all three men engaged in blatant racism and that they have tried to 'latch onto a racist rhetoric' as a way to influence the jury, made up of 11 white and one black juror.
'She didn't just paint him as a criminal, let's be clear about that. What she tried to do was paint him as a runaway slave. And I think what we're seeing from not only her, other defense attorneys in this case ... we're seeing an unparalleled level of just blatant racism,' he said.
Travis McMichael, 35, his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, and neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan Jr, 52, have all pleaded not guilty to one count of malice murder, four of felony murder, two of aggravated assault, one of false imprisonment and one of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
As the jury in the murder trial deliberates for a second day, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told CNN's New Day that the defense team for all three men engaged in blatant racism and that they have tried to 'latch onto a racist rhetoric' as a way to influence the jury, made up of 11 white and one black juror
Travis McMichael (pictured in court Tuesday) was the only defendant to take the stand, testifying that he fired his shotgun at close range at Arbery in self defense in what he said was the most traumatic event of his life
Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael (left), and neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan Jr (right), have all pleaded not guilty to one count of malice murder, four of felony murder, two of aggravated assault, one of false imprisonment and one of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment
The men said they tried to make a citizen's arrest, which was allowed under Georgia law at the time of Arbery's shooting death on February 23, 2020.
They chased Arbery, 25, through the mainly-white area of Satilla Shores, just outside the small coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia. The pursuit ended with Travis firing three times from his pump action shotgun, leaving Arbery dead in the roadway.
During her closing arguments on Monday, attorney for Gregory McMichael, Laura Hogue, told the jury the defendants had a duty to catch Arbery, whom she painted as a frightening burglar with 'long dirty toenails,' using a description from the autopsy report.
As she made the decsription, Arbery's mother Wanda Cooper-Jones lef the court room in tears.
'The only thing that I think of is that they then believe that is going to resonate, given the geographic location of where this trial is being held in the deep south, and the demographics of the jury in terms of its makeup - that being 11 white jurors and one black,' Crump said.
Crump on Tuesday claimed on CNN that: 'They're hoping that there's somebody who's going to latch on to this racist rhetoric that they are spouting and potentially prevent their clients from being convicted. Hopefully we will not see that happen, but that sort of rhetoric and using racism as a legal strategy is just an arberration.'
Crump was referring specifically to Williams' defense attorney Kevin Gough who asked the judge to declare a mistrial five times - four of which were for black pastors being present in the court room, and the fifth after armed black militia rallied outside the court house on Monday.
Jury deliberations have resumed for a second day Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley called the jurors into the courtroom briefly Wednesday morning and instructed them to continue weighing the charges in the murder trial.
The defense is shown walking into the Glynn County courthouse ahead of closing arguments on Tuesday
Cooper-Jones was in tears as she left the Glen County Magistrate Court in Brunswick, Georgia, on Monday
The disproportionately white jury received the case around midday Tuesday and spent about six hours deliberating before adjourning without a verdict.
The McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a fleeing burglar when they armed themselves and jumped in a pickup truck to chase him on Feb. 23, 2020. Bryan joined the pursuit when they passed his house and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery at close range with a shotgun as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for the weapon.
Arbery´s killing became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after the graphic video of his death leaked online two months later and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case, quickly arresting the three men. Each of them is charged with murder and other crimes.
The above map shows Ahmaud Arbery's approximate path and locations of the events that occurred on February 23, 2020
In the video recorded by Bryan, Arbery can be seen trying to wrestle a shotgun from Travis McMichael's hands. After being shot three times by the younger McMichael, the video shows Arbery collapsing to the pavement. He died on the scene
Defense attorneys contend the McMichaels were attempting a legal citizen´s arrest when they set off after Arbery, seeking to detain and question him as a suspected burglar after he was seen running from a nearby home under construction.
Travis McMichael testified that he shot Arbery in self-defense, saying the running man turned and attacked with his fists while running past the idling truck where Travis McMichael stood with his shotgun.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in the defendants´ neighborhood. He had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing at the time to study to become an electrician like his uncles.
