Ahmaud Arbery: Nearly all-white jury chosen in black jogger murder trial

The defense struck 24 potential jurors: 13 white and 11 black. The prosecution struck 12 potential jurors: all white.

Defense struck more whites than blacks. Prosecution struck ONLY whites. But of course it is the defense that was racially biased.

The case itself is racially charged. And every one of the jurors the defense struck had provided an indication of having reached conclusions or having fixed thinking even before evidence had been presented - most based on race.

It is not the defense's fault that almost all of the black potential jurors (and a good number of the white ones) indicated they were incapable of being unbiased.


Does it LOOK bad? Sure. But looks can be deceiving.

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel This doesn't surprise me either...

..."Denise De La Rue, a trial consultant in Georgia, pointed out that Americans from ethnic minorities tend to be under-represented on most juries, but there should still have been more black jurors vetted.

She noted that, because the county's black population hovers around 26%, an ideal number would have been three.

"That's the problem with having the trial in this venue," said Ms De La Rue. "What we're left with is something that looks pretty lopsided."

But she suggested that, given the highly charged nature of the case, "many of the white jurors left on the panel would be very concerned about returning a verdict that appeared to be a racist one".

"I don't think [the makeup of the jury] means the defence has an easy road ahead."

We'll have to wait and see how the trial goes.