Judge mulls defense request to allow Ahmaud Arbery's criminal and mental history into trial

Judge mulls defense request to allow Ahmaud Arbery's criminal and mental history into trial

A Georgia judge is considering whether to allow Ahmaud Arbery's criminal history and a diagnosis of mental illness to be presented at the trial of the three white men accused of tracking down the 25-year-old Black man and fatally shooting him in February 2020. Chatham County Superior Court Judge Timothy R. Walmsley, who was appointed to oversee the Glynn County case, began a two-day hearing Tuesday on a dozen motions by the defense and prosecution on what will and will not be allowed as evidence during the trial scheduled for October. Attorneys for defendants Gregory McMichael, 65, and his 35-year-old son, Travis McMichael, argued that Arbery's criminal background shows a pattern of him responding in an "angry and aggressive" way when confronted by someone with authority. Defense attorney Jason Sheffield called witnesses in Tuesday's all-day hearing who testified about different instances involving Arbery's encounters with police, including a 2013 arrest for bringing a gun into a high school gym during a basketball game.