Thread by @Brandi_Buchman

Jurors will soon begin deliberating the Ahmaud Arbery case as the prosecution today delivers its final rebuttal to the defense. Yesterday was an ugly day for the Arbery family after defense painted him as a criminal, not a victim.
Live updates here:
dailykos.com/stories/2021/1…

We are barely a half hour into this and again, the defense attorney has requested a mistrial. This time regarding a grievance over a definition by prosecution of a citizen's arrest.

Judge Tim Walmsley seems slightly exasperated by the request since at an earlier conference he agreed to provide jurors with the legal definition that they could reference. Defense says that prosecution is making misstatements of the law and that this is improper.

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski says she listened all day yesterday as defense offered their interpretation of the law. She argues that she is providing the state's interpretation of the laws around citizen's arrest.
Defense says you can argue the law, not a misstatement of the law

Judge says there was a debate about this last week Friday and he's not going to reignite that debate in front of the jury.

Judge denies the defense team's request for mistrial

We are taking a brief five break.

We are back. Updates posting here. Right now prosecution is unwinding the citizen's arrest claim by defense.
dailykos.com/stories/2021/1…

Prosecution: When you're in the store & there's a woman shoplifting, you have to do it right then & there. She comes back in the store 4 days later, you can't arrest her. If you fail to make that arrest immediately after offense, you have no power to do a citizen's arrest

Defense again has objected to this saying that the prosecution is misconstruing the definition of the law, to which the judge interjects and clarifies to jurors, this is the state's interpretation of this law, the verbatim law will be provided when deliberating.

While defendants claim they courteously stopped Arbery, prosecution plays clip where McMichael is heard saying "Stop god damn it, stop" to Arbery.
Dunikoski asks jurors if they believe this is the true McMichael? Or is the true McMichael the one who has been trial prepped?

Greg McMichael did try to control the narrative after his son killed someone, prosecutor says. Recounting: while first responders are on the scene, Greg McMichael goes up and tells Travis, says, 'you didn't have any choice. He wandered the crime scene, talked to people.

Arbery is dead on the ground and Greg McMichael is talking to a a stranger who comes up to him and McMichael says aloud about Arbery:"This guy ain't no shuffler, this guy's an asshole."
Malice, right there, Dunikoski says. Thats how you know, right there.

After 2pm on 2/23/20, McMichael is talking to the head of the criminal investigations div. for Glynn County PD while crime scene photos are being taken and then McMichael's truck is driven home from the scene. Never searched, never impounded.

Prosecution:"They committed four felonies against Ahmaud Arbery in violation of his personal liberty before he finally tried to run around their truck after running from them for 5 mins. He was trying to get away from strangers threatening to kill him. And then they killed him."

Prosecution tells jurors, if you come back with guilty on all counts, its not you saying they are a bad person. It's you saying "we know what you did to and we are going to hold you responsible for it."

The prosecution's rebuttal has now rested and there is a 10 minute recess. This case very shortly is about to go to the jurors.

The jury is now deliberating in the Ahmaud Arbery case. It will be they who decide the fate of Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., a trio of white men accused of chasing and killing the young Black man last year.
dailykos.com/stories/2021/1…