The Transformative Justice Coalition Decries Racial Composition of Jury for Murder Trial of Alleged White Vigilantes

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Nov 04, 2021, 11:23 ET

BRUNSWICK, Ga., Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transformative Justice Coalition denounces the racist jury strikes of 11 of the 12 Black jurors by the attorney defense team for the 3 White Men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery while "jogging while Black" in their predominantly White neighborhood. "Given the highly racialized and aggressive questioning of potential jurors by the defense which TJC has actively criticized since the beginning of this trial, we were not surprised that the defense attorneys would use their strikes to exclude almost every Black juror," said TJC President Barbara R. Arnwine, Esq. "Infamous Wednesday will go down in history for this outrageous and racist exclusion of Black jurors during this trial.

"We firmly believe the defense attorneys targeted Black jurors, subjected them to racially disparate treatment as compared to White jurors and were disingenuous and pretextual in asserting "race neutral' grounds for eliminating Black jurors." Although the Judge saw the racial discrimination in the actions of the defense, he ruled against the State's motion to reseat 8 of the Black jurors based on limitations in Georgia law.

TJC calls on immediate law reform in Georgia and throughout the nation to prevent the racially discriminatory abuse of peremptory strikes.

TJC, Black Voters Matter, Georgia NOW and the Arbery Family will sponsor a Protest March Demanding Justice for Ahmaud on Thursday, November 4th, at 2:00 PM from the Glynn County Courthouse, through the streets of Brunswick to the Ahmaud Arbery Mural and the Dixiville Neighborhood. A National TeleTown Hall will be broadcast live from Brunswick on Facebook,com/TJC.DC, Thursday evening at 8:00 PM EDT.

The Transformative Justice Coalition will continue its daily vigils at the Glynn County Courthouse until a verdict is reached in this case

Founded in 2015 by Barbara Arnwine, president emeritus of the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, the Transformative Justice Coalition seeks to be a catalyst for transformative institutional changes that bring about justice and equality in the United States and abroad. Learn more at tjcoalition.org.

Lynn Whitfield, Esq.
Email: [email protected]
Cell: (561) 856-6757

SOURCE Transformative Justice Coalition