JOGGING WHILE BLACK

[rothschild]

But tell me how exactly they attempted to carry out a legal citizens arrest?

When Can a Private Citizen Make an Arrest?

Most states authorize private citizens to make arrests if the suspect:

has actually committed a felony, or
is committing a breach-of-the-peace misdemeanor in the presence of the citizen. Whether a misdemeanor breaches the peace is typically a case-by-case determination—for example, illegally carrying a firearm might qualify. (But it's generally not a good idea to try to personally arrest someone carrying a gun!)
While state laws vary, many states require the citizen to turn over the suspect to the police without delay. (The citizen cannot take justice into his or her own hands.)

Not the best quote I could find but they didn’t do that. Their actions were unreasonable.

Here's the initial prosecutor's report. Worth a read, IMO.

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/...d/full.pdf


Here's the Georgia statute re citizen arrests:

A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.


It dates back to the Civil War, and was definitely in need of updating, being very broad and ambiguous.

Yeah not too impressed with the initial prosecutor’s report. Of course they were going to write a CYA narrative that supported their decision not to charge.

And when you say the law was not only dated but “ambiguous” you’re just confirming that it was open to some interpretation. Ergo, the jury interpreted it and probably factored in the reasonable person expectation. Rightfully so.

You're showing a serious degree of ignorance with respect to criminal/civil law: It is NOT the role of a jury to interpret law. Their function is to interpret the *evidence* presented at trial. Interpretation of law is reserved exclusively for judges. So the ambiguity should have been resolved BEFORE the jury began deliberations.