You can find a collection of media coverage of the McMichaels / Bryan trial here.
In this episode, The Killing of Ahmaud Arbery: Juror Exclusion On The Basis Of Race — Part 2, host Kary Antholis details the McMichaels / Bryan defense teams’ race-neutral reasons for blocking the Black jurors that they struck from the final jury panel, discusses Judge Walmsley’s decision on the motion, and offers a general overview of the individuals who are on the final jury panel. Paul Butler, Georgetown Law Professor, MSNBC Legal Analyst and Crime Story Consulting Editor, joins Kary to provide insight into how the competing strategies employed may affect the trial itself.
As promised in the podcast, we present, below a more detailed set of individual profiles of the jurors and alternates in the trial. We have taken care to omit any details that might make these jurors individually identifiable.
Jurors are identified by a number assigned to them at the beginning of the selection process. While some information about jurors can be gleaned by observers in the courtroom, their names and other identifying information is not made public. Sometimes ages are given, and other times they are estimated by courtroom observers. Below is a rundown of both jurors and alternate jurors in the McMichaels’ and Bryan case. The first two are seated jurors, while the remaining thirteen may be jurors or alternates.
Juror 380 – is the sole Black juror. A man estimated to be in his 60’s, he works for the railroad and has grown children. His son lives in Brunswick and knew Ahmaud Arbery, though they did not seem to be close friends. This juror has a cousin who works for the Glynn County Sheriff’s Department and respects law enforcement. However, he thinks Black people are treated differently by police officers and that race played a role in Arbery’s death based on his life experience as a black man. He said he can put aside what he’s been through and be objective.
Juror 282 – is a White woman in her 60s who is retired from a career in IT. Her spouse is a retired plant manager and she has three adult children, one of whom is a probation officer. She said she just wonders why the defendants didn’t call the police instead of “doing what they did.” These thoughts have caused her to have negative feelings toward all three defendants.
Juror 79 – is a White woman in her 30s or 40s who has worked for Home Depot for 15 years. Before working for Home Depot, she was a 911 operator. Her son is a border patrol agent and her brother’s step son works for local police.
Juror 158 – is a White male in his 70s or 80s who served in the military. He is retired after working for 50 years in law enforcement, including special prosecutions and federal work.
Juror 168 – is a White female in her 50s sho has lived in Glynn County for less than 5 years. She is married and works in retail. She owns no firearms and her husband has a pickup truck
Juror 234 – is a White woman in her 20s or 30s. She is self-employed as a life coach, helping women plan financially for medical issues.
Juror 258 – is a White male and a retired federal law enforcement officer. After nearly three decades in law enforcement, he now works as an instructor.
Juror 496 – is a White female in her 20s. She says the only articles she reads are from the far right newspaper, The EPOCH Times. She once had a gun stolen from her husband’s truck in downtown Brunswick
Juror 580 – is a White woman, roughly 60 years old. Now retired, she worked as a trauma nurse and paramedic for 30 years. In school, she minored in social work. She is knowledgeable about guns.
Juror 195 – is a White woman, 62 years old, who has lived in Glynn County for a little over a year. This juror said she felt negatively about the defendants, but could set that aside and base her verdict on evidence presented during trial. If presented by the defense, she said she will consider self-defense and Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law. She became a U.S. citizen in 2012 and said, “This is sort of a civic duty I can do. I donate blood and can sit on a jury.” This juror believes race was a factor in Arbery’s death. Kevin Gough, an attorney for William Bryan, asked if she was a “never Trumper”. She responded by asking if that was relevant, then said she does not support Trump, but has lived in the South long enough to have good friends who do.
Juror 274 – is a White woman in her 50s with wavy blond hair that is pulled back. She works part-time for a nature preservation organization as a volunteer coordinator and plans their annual fundraiser. Her husband is a retired civil engineer and she has lived in Glynn County “on and off” since 1994. She was the victim of a home invasion in 1988. She also believes that law enforcement treats white and Black people differently.
Juror 281 – is a White woman in her 20s who has worked as a speech pathologist in a preschool setting since graduating three years ago.
No. 364 – is a White woman who moved to Glynn County several years ago after retiring from her job in state government in Ohio. She said she doesn’t know much about the shooting. Regarding serving on the jury, she said, “I wouldn’t mind. I think it’s probably my duty to do it. That doesn’t mean I want to.”
Juror 773 – is a White male, Air Force veteran and gun owner, who said he has a negative impression of Greg McMichael, but not the other defendants. “I got the impression he was stalking,” the man said, saying he based that opinion on news coverage and from seeing the video of the shooting “fewer than five times.” He said he has not made up his mind about Greg McMichael’s innocence or guilt.
Juror 440 – is a White female, possibly in her 40s, who has worked for 12 years as a nurse in oncology, a hospice and a short-term inpatient psychiatric hospital. She moved to Glynn County from Douglasville, Ga. Her husband is a contractor who works on building renovations. She has a boy 17 and girl 12.
