GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Defense attorneys asked prosecutors in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery to stop calling the 25-year-old a victim.
Motions filed last week by the attorneys for Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael, the father and son charged in Arbery’s death, said they do not want prosecutors using the term victim “at trial, during jury selection or in the presence of witnesses.”
Attorneys for Ahmaud Arbery’s family told First Coast News the filings were bizarre.
Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan remain in jail and have pleaded not guilty to the various charges they face in Arbery’s death.
The McMichaels were denied bond during a hearing in November, and attorneys wrote the purpose of their motion “is to prevent the prosecution from ignoring its duty to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that crimes were actually committed and that McMichaels committed the crimes as charged.”
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who represents Ahmaud Arbery’s family, said its obvious that Arbery was the victim of a violent crime.
“If the only thing these attorneys can offer in defense is, ‘Well, terms like 'victim' are prejudicial,’ it smacks of desperation,” Merritt said.
The motion goes on to say using terms like “victim” shifts the focus to the accused rather than remain on the proof of every element of the crimes charged.
Merritt said he expects the attorneys to defend their clients zealously, but is surprised.
“The continued goal of dehumanizing Ahmaud Arbery doesn’t seem like it’s been successful in the past," Merritt explained. "I don’t imagine it’s a successful strategy for court."
Defense attorneys also filed a motion asking the court to not allow spectators to wear masks or clothing with what they call partial statements like “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice for Ahmaud” or “I Can’t Breathe.”
The attorneys write it provides a distraction and safety issue to the court.
The defense attorneys are also asking the court to exclude all jail calls from the trial, some of which were introduced at the November bond hearing.
In a call between Greg McMichael and his brother, Greg used the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” referencing the shooting.
In another call, the eldest McMichael told someone “this narrative that we shot a Black kid for running through a white neighborhood is absolute bull****, absolute f****** bull****.”
The jail calls, body camera video and the evidence shown during the bond hearing were released in December.
Merritt says the body camera videos were difficult to watch.
“The videos show, for example, Travis McMichael covered in blood, and he was treated so casually as he discussed the murder of Ahmaud Arbery,” Merritt said.
"To see Greg McMichael immediately allude to his law enforcement service and use the nature of his relationships to guide the early onsets of this investigation it began to provide clarity why we didn’t see arrests in the early parts of this investigation,” Merritt added.
Merritt said while he believes a lot was learned from the videos but none of it was easy. However, he hopes the trial will take place in 2021.
“His mother actually discovered for the first time as she watched that video he may survived for longer than she thought," Merritt said. "There was a chance he could’ve received first aid from his assailants but they chose not to."
Other motions filed last week included one by Kevin Gough, which is asking for a judge to grant a second bond hearing due to defendant William “Roddie” Bryan. The motion says Bryan continues to suffer from uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Bryan’s attorney said his blood pressure will remain out of control if he is not released. His attorney also said Bryan’s ability to attend, follow along and participate in his trial would be greatly impaired “assuming he survives long enough to have a trial.”
No date for a trial has been set.