09-05-2025
How Chattanooga jury impacted verdict in Tyre Nichols' case
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hamilton County, Tennessee, is 358 miles from Memphis. Attorneys traveled there to find a jury for the 3 officers on state trial in the Tyre Nichols beating death.
Defense attorneys wanted the change of venue over concerns that an impartial jury couldn't be found near Shelby County because of so much publicity about the Tyre Nichols case.
'There was a motion filed by the defense to change venue, and there was study done in the amount of publicity in the very large cities in Tennessee and it was found that Chattanooga had the lowest amount of pre-trial publicity with regard to this case. And so that's why it was chosen,' said Paul Hagerman, prosecutor in the Tyre Nichols case.
Hamilton County has a population of around 380,000, and 76% are White and 20% are Black.
While we are WREG is not sure about the demographics of the full jury pool that was called for the Tyre Nichols case, the final 12 jurors that decided it were all white.
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'They did not look like Mr. Nichols. They did not not look like the officers that were charged, and we are supposed to be judged by what? People that are our own peers,' said a friend of the Nichols' family.
'But this jury was not reflective of the city of Memphis, and I think that was a big win for the defense, because I think the jurors tend to be more conservative from places like Chattanooga and East Tennessee, other parts of East Tennessee, Knoxville, which they're going to be more friendly to the police, and I think that's what you saw here this week,' said Art Horne, Memphis Attorney.
WREG asked long time attorney Art Horne, who was not involved in the Tyre Nichols trial, if attorneys could have done more to get a diverse set of jurors.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. You get a pool of you get a list of people, and they're randomly selected. And so basically, when they're selected, they have to answer questions.
'I'm sure one of the questions was, had they seen the video in Tyree Nichols' case, and disproportionately, I'm sure, African Americans saw that video more than probably white Americans, and so I think that hampered the ability to get diversity and minorities on that jury,' said Horne.
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Hamilton County and Chattanooga are worlds apart when it comes to issues facing the communities.
Memphis is in a crime fight, that's become well know around the region. And it even played into defense attorney Martin Zummach's closing arguments as he read crime headlines to the jury.
'CNN Headlines. Memphis Mayor meets with gang members to request a ceasefire,' said Martin Zummach, Justin Smith's attorney.
He stressed what police, like those on trial, face every day.
'Crime has continued to go nuts. It's a matter of public record. It's a matter of your own knowledge in your own head when you come to Shelby County,' said Zummach.
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'Think that really, really had an impact on this jury, who was not from here, and who probably looks a lot of people across the state of Tennessee, as you know, kind of look at Memphis as the armpit of the state, and we're very different,' said Art Horne, Memphis Attorney.
'It was masterful. I think he did a great job for his client. I think he did a great job for his client. I think he knew the audience that he was catering to, and they played right into the hands of those jurors from Hamilton County,' said Horne.
It worked for the defense. Attorney's got the verdicts they wanted from a jury they pushed for, and prosecutors left to deal with the outcome.
'I think it's a testimony to the fairness of our criminal justice center that we bent over backwards to get a jury from another jurisdiction to assure the defendants were given a fair trial. Beyond that, I don't think I should comment,' said Steve Mulroy, Shelby County District Attorney.
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