BRUNSWICK — The trial of former coastal Georgia District Attorney Jackie Johnson came to an abrupt halt Wednesday when the presiding judge dismissed her remaining felony charge.
Johnson was indicted by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office in 2021 and accused of hindering the investigation into Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. But the prosecution’s case floundered from the start, and Senior Judge John R. Turner on Monday took the rare step of throwing out Johnson’s misdemeanor obstruction charge, saying he hadn’t seen “one scintilla of evidence” the former DA instructed police not to arrest Arbery’s killers.
On Wednesday, he tossed Johnson’s remaining felony count accusing her of violating her oath of office.
Johnson’s attorney, Brian Steel, had challenged the validity of the charge, which was predicated on an oath she swore in 2010 after being appointed by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.
He said the indictment brought by Carr’s office more than three years ago was deficient because that oath was not in effect at the time of Arbery’s murder. Johnson had taken two more oaths after winning reelection bids in 2012 and 2016. On Wednesday, the judge agreed.
Turner expressed sympathy for Arbery’s family members seated in the courtroom before dismissing the case.
“In listening to the testimony here, I will never understand why these people were never arrested,” Turner said of Arbery’s killers.
Credit: Associated Press
Credit: Associated Press
He said he recently lost close friends of his and was devastated by the news. But Turner said it was “nothing that compares to what the Arbery family must have gone through” after losing their son.
Arbery’s parents seemed disappointed as they exited the courtroom, but his mother said in the hallway that she understood the judge’s rationale.
“The law is the law,” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones said before leaving the courthouse. “But this was a win for us, because we got to find out what really went on.”
Though the case was dismissed, Cooper Jones said she still believes Johnson “played a part in the cover-up” of her son’s death.
The witnesses called by the prosecution proved more helpful to the defense, however, with many testifying Johnson did nothing illegal. By the end of the first day of testimony, even Arbery’s family and the attorneys representing them raised concerns about how the trial was going.
“I don’t think the case was presentable enough. I really don’t,” said Arbery’s aunt, Diane Jackson. “It’s like the people that are supposed to be your witnesses are witnessing for the other side.”
Johnson’s indictment alleged she instructed two Glynn County police officers not to arrest Travis McMichael, who chased after Arbery with a shotgun and killed him in the street.
But the department’s assistant police chief, Stephanie Oliver, said that never happened. In fact, Oliver testified she never even spoke to Johnson about the case. She told the same thing to the Glynn County grand jury that indicted the former DA more than three years ago, she said, raising questions over why the AG’s office charged Johnson in the first place.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Johnson’s attorney said his client has walked around for five years knowing people thought she protected murderers.
“Jackie was painted as a person who supported racism,” Steel said
Throughout the trial, the Atlanta defense attorney made it a point to mention in front of the jury that Carr is running for governor in 2026.
In an emailed statement, Carr noted the jury never got a chance to decide the case.
“Nearly five years ago, Ahmaud Arbery was violently and senselessly killed in the streets of the Satilla Shores neighborhood. As I have said to his family and many others before: if that was my child, I would want to know that everyone was doing everything possible to ensure justice was served,” Carr said. “We stand by the case we presented, and we regret that the Jury won’t get to decide.”
Johnson testified in her own defense Tuesday, saying she in no way hindered the investigation into Arbery’s murder. She said she voluntarily recused herself the day of the shooting after learning it involved Greg McMichael, who had worked for years as her chief investigator.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The former DA cried on the stand while recalling an encounter she had months later with Arbery’s mother after the video of her son’s killing sparked worldwide outrage.
Up until then, Johnson said she had been told Arbery was a suspect in a burglary and that he had been killed by the younger McMichael during a struggle over the shotgun.
“Watching that video did you believe Mr. Ahmaud Arbery was a perpetrator?” Steel asked Johnson.
“No, it looked like he was murdered to me,” she said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The McMichaels and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, who joined in the chase and filmed Arbery’s killing, weren’t arrested until May 2020 after the GBI took over the case from local police.
All three men were convicted of murder the following year and sentenced to life in prison. In 2022, they were convicted of federal hate crimes for targeting Arbery because of his race.
Had Johnson’s fate been left up to the jury, Steel said he has no doubt she would have been acquitted.
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