CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Court began in Camden County Saturday morning with a shake-up. The judge dismissed a juror for medical reasons.
He said she brought a note from a hospital saying she could not perform her duties because of her health.
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She was head juror, and the only black person on the panel. The day before, she was questioned about a possible connection to the Green family but was allowed to return to deliberations.
On Saturday, she was replaced by an alternate.
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“It was surprising and shocking,” Tony Green’s dad Wayne Anderson said. “Angered, upset but at the same time, I know that I still got to maintain my hope and maintain faith and belief that it’s going to come out right.”
Census data shows Camden County’s population is 20 percent black.
We asked Action News Jax law & safety expert Dale Carson if he was surprised by the makeup of the jury in the Zechariah Presley case.
He said in an ideal world, you want a jury of peers and would have minorities represented but there are no legal requirements for a diverse jury.
“I don’t have all the circumstances that surround what happened with the juror and the jury," Anderson said. "Right now I’m looking at the makeup of jury and I’m just hoping and praying the right thing be done."
Carson said if the jury finds Presley not guilty, the state could file an appeal claiming the panel was imbalanced but that would be up to prosecutors to make that decision.