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Jury selection in the trial of the men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery continues to drag on in its second week. Many of the same issues that were present in the first week have crossed over into week two. Most notably, there has been difficulty finding jurors who have not learned a substantial amount about the case and come to a conclusion about the guilt or innocence of William "Roddy" Bryan, Travis McMichael and George McMichael.
“Do you believe as they sit here now that they have a committed a crime?” Travis McMichael's attorney, James Sheffield, said, according to the Associated Press.
"I’d say yes," one potential juror answered.
Another potential juror said that he was friends with Arbery while another said that they knew Arbery's father. Meanwhile, one juror pointed out that they had seen the video, but were open to the possibility that there were things "we didn’t see and we don’t know."
“It was three persons who attacked one and no gun,” one potential juror said during questioning.
“There’s things that happened that we didn’t see and we don’t know."
The Associated Press has reported that less than 35% of the jury pool members were classified as "fair-minded enough" to be potentially selected for the final jury. Five of the 19 jury pool members that arrived were dismissed after "minimal" questions. Given the challenges that have emerged during the jury selection process, Judge Timothy Walmsley has warned that jury selection could extend into a third week. Despite the lengthy process, it does appear that both sides would like to find a jury in Glynn County rather than relocating to a new venue.
"To ask for a change of venue, we have to find enough evidence that our jury pool is so tainted that we cannot find a fair and impartial jury," Sheffield told CNN.
"The way we get there is by questioning each and every individual juror, listening to their thoughts and opinions about the case, what they think they know and what they would be willing to consider and whether they would be able to keep an open mind."
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