A Georgia judge will decide on Thursday whether a jury can hear from Travis McMichael about a racial slur officials say he uttered as Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, lay dying from shotgun wounds suffered when Mr McMichael shot him.
The accused began speaking in his own defence on Wednesday, taking the stand even though it opened him up to questioning by prosecutors who have said they might ask him about evidence he had “racial animus” against black people.
Mr McMichael, 35, his father, Greg McMichael, 65, and their neighbour, William “Roddie” Bryan, 52 — all white men — have been charged with murder along with other crimes in the February 23, 2020, killing of Arbery in their mostly white neighbourhood outside coastal Brunswick.
The McMichaels told police that they chased Arbery in a pickup truck because they thought he looked like a burglar and Mr Bryan joined the chase after they passed his driveway.
Defence lawyers said the men were trying to stop Arbery under a now-repealed Georgia citizen's arrest law, and the younger McMichael shot him in self defence. The McMichaels and Mr Bryan face life in prison if convicted of murder.
Mobile phone video of the shooting taken by Mr Bryan was widely seen on the internet about two months after Arbery's death and caused a national uproar before charges were ultimately brought.
Speaking on the stand on Wednesday, the younger Mr McMichael said Arbery tried to take his weapon.
“I shot him. He had my gun,” he said. “It was a life or death situation.”
In a court hearing in June 2020, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Mr Bryan had claimed in an interview that the younger Mr McMichael had uttered a racial slur as Arbery lay dying.
On Wednesday, Mr McMichael's attorney, Jason Sheffield, asked the court to prevent prosecutors from asking about the reported slur unless they could give a “good faith” reason why it was relevant.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Honeymoonish
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'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
more from Janine di Giovanni
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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