Jury selection is set to conclude Tuesday in the criminal misconduct trial of a former Georgia prosecutor charged with interfering in the police investigation of the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery. The former District Attorney is accused of violating her oath of office and hindering police as they investigated Arbery's killing.
The incident involved a group of white men with guns and pickup trucks chasing and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, on a neighborhood street after wrongly suspecting him of theft. The man who initiated the pursuit had ties to the local district attorney's office.
The trial is taking place at the Glynn County courthouse in Brunswick, where a jury is being seated to hear the case. Opening statements from both the prosecution and defense are scheduled for later Tuesday, with the trial expected to last two weeks or more.
In the events leading up to the trial, the father and son duo, along with a neighbor, chased Arbery in their trucks, resulting in his tragic death. The neighbor recorded the fatal shooting on video, which led to the eventual arrests of the individuals involved.
The former District Attorney, who served for 10 years, has denied any wrongdoing and stated that she handed the case to an outside prosecutor. However, prosecutors allege that she showed favoritism towards one of the accused individuals and interfered with the police investigation.
All three men involved in the killing were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. They were also found guilty of federal hate crimes in a separate trial. The former District Attorney was voted out of office following the controversy surrounding Arbery's killing.
