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A former prosecutor in Georgia has been indicted for misconduct, accusing her of using her position to protect those pursuing murder Ahmed Abery He was charged with a crime immediately after the shooting.
A grand jury in Coastal Green County charged former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson on Thursday for violating her oath of office and obstructing law enforcement officials.
The indictment stems from Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr’s request last year to investigate the local prosecutor’s handling of the killing of Abery, because the mobile phone video of the shooting and the delay in the allegations triggered a national outcry.
Republican Carl said in a statement: “Although the indictment has been returned today, our files have not been closed, and we will continue to investigate to seek justice.”
Arbery on February 23, 2020 White father and son, Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and after they found him running in a block outside Brunswick, a coastal city about 112 kilometers (70 miles) south of Savannah, they chased the man in a pickup truck. 25-year-old black man.
Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan also joined the chase and filmed with his mobile phone Travis McMichael Shoot Abery at close range with a shotgun. McMichaels said they believed Arbery was a thief, and he was shot and killed after attacking Travis McMichael.
After the shooting, the police did not immediately bring charges against any of them. McMichael and Brian remained at large for more than two months until the mobile phone video of the shooting was leaked online, and Governor Brian Kemp demanded Georgia. The Bureau of Investigation (GBI) takes action. Pass the case.
Both McMichaels and Bryan were charged with murder and other crimes in May 2020 and will face trial later this year. The prosecutor said that Abery was just jogging near them and he was unarmed when Travis McMichael shot. They said there was no evidence that Abery committed a crime.
Greg McMichael worked as an investigator in Johnson’s office and retired in 2019. The evidence provided at the pre-trial hearing of the murder showed that he called Johnson’s cell phone shortly after the shooting and left her a voice message.
“Jackie, this is Greg,” he said based on the recording of the call in the public case file. “Can you call me as soon as possible? My son and I were involved in a shooting. I need some advice.”
Greg McMichael’s cell phone call records that day did not show that Johnson had called him.
The indictment stated that Johnson showed a “favor and affection” for Greg McMichael during the investigation and interfered with the police at the scene by “instructing Travis McMichael not to be arrested.”
Johnson did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on Thursday afternoon. She had previously insisted that she had done nothing wrong, saying that she immediately avoided the case because Greg McMichael was a former employee.
“I believe that when the truth finally comes to light, people will understand that our office did what it had to do in this situation,” Johnson told the Associated Press in November after losing his re-election.
Abery’s mother’s lawyer, Lee Merritt, said in a statement on Thursday that prosecutors “must take responsibility when they intervene in an investigation to protect friends and law enforcement.”
He said that Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, “thanks to all those who continue to bring justice to Ahmaud and advocate accountability at all levels”.
When Carl called for an investigation into the prosecutor’s misconduct, he asked GBI to investigate not only Johnson’s actions in connection with the killing, but also the conduct of Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill. The charges against Barnhill have not been announced.
After the shooting, Johnson called Barnhill to deal with police questions about how to handle the shooting.
Carl finally appointed Barnhill to succeed him on February 27, four days after the shooting. Carl said in a letter that ordered an investigation in May last year that he was never told that Barnhill had informed the police that “he sees no reason to arrest anyone in connection with Mr. Abery’s death”.
After Abery’s family learned that his son was an assistant prosecutor for Johnson, Barnhill later avoided himself. But before he walked away, Barnhill wrote a letter to a Sheriff in Green County, stating that the McMichaels were “closely chasing a burglary suspect and had reliable firsthand in their vicinity.” Probable cause, and ask/tell him to stop”.
“It seems that their intention is to stop and detain the suspect before law enforcement personnel arrive. According to Georgia law, this is completely legal,” Barnhill suggested in the letter, citing Georgia’s citizen arrest regulations. With the overwhelming support of Republicans and Democrats, the law was quickly repealed as a response to Abery’s death.
Johnson blamed the controversy over Abery’s death on her election failure last year after ten years as the chief prosecutor of the five-county tour in southeastern Georgia. She was defeated by independent candidate Keith Higgins, who had to collect thousands of signatures to vote.
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