The next prosecutor, George E. Barnhill, stepped aside because his son worked for Ms. Johnson, but not before he advised that the McMichaels were protected by the state’s citizen’s arrest and self-defense statutes and should not be held responsible for the killing. In his letter to the state attorney general asking to be recused, Mr. Barnhill said that his son had handled a previous felony probation revocation case involving Mr. Arbery, and that Gregory McMichael had also helped with a previous prosecution of Mr. Arbery.

Source: New York Times May 11, 2020 17:40 UTC