- Banned
- #721
The first district attorney in the case, Jackie Johnson of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, had to recuse herself because Gregory McMichael, a former Glynn County police officer, was an investigator in her office until he retired a year ago.I’m talking about the original law as defined in the Winn Dixie decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals. They changed the law to discourage vigilante violence.
In the weeks after the shooting, a second district attorney assigned to the case, George Barnhill of the Waycross Judicial Circuit, declined to pursue charges. He wrote in April that there was no probable cause to issue arrest warrants, and he later recused himself because of a conflict of interest. (The new prosecutor, District Attorney Joyette Holmes of the Cobb County Judicial Circuit, hails from metro Atlanta, a few hours away.)
Barnhill wrote to a Glynn County police captain that the McMichaels had "first hand probable cause" to pursue Arbery and that they had told police that they believed he was a "burglary suspect" in their neighborhood.
"It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived," Barnhill wrote. "Under Georgia Law this is perfectly legal