Judge denies change of venue in Tyre Nichols federal trial
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The federal trial against four former Memphis Police officers accused in the beating death of Tyre Nichols will be held in Memphis, according to a ruling made Thursday.
The decision comes after several pending motions to move the trial following concerns about whether or not the four men will be able to have a fair trial here in Shelby County.
US District Court Judge Mark Norris denied motions to either select a jury from other parts of the state or to just move the trial to another part of the state entirely.
Attorneys for the four officers argued intense coverage of the case, including publicly released video of the beating, would make it difficult to find an unbiased jury.
It was back in January of last year that the four defendants, along with a fifth former officer Desmond Mills, were caught on video pepper spraying and beating Nichols following a traffic stop down the street from Nichols’ mother’s house.
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Nichols died in the hospital three days later, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Emmitt Martin, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith are charged with excessive force resulting in the death of Nichols; aiding and abetting each other in using that excessive force; failing to intervene to stop the excessive force; failing to render medical aid; and conspiring or taking action to cover up their misconduct.
They have pleaded not guilty. Mills pleaded guilty to the federal charges in November as a part of a plea deal in exchange for his full cooperation in the federal and state trials.
In response to the defenses’ concerns about jury bias, Judge Norris replied, “The fact that there’s a lot of coverage doesn’t mean there’s prejudice.”
But, he explains, if there is evidence of bias found in the potential juror questionnaires, the defense can file another change of venue motion.
The four former officers could face a life sentence in federal prison if found guilty.
That trial is scheduled to begin on September 9.
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