Arizona Rancher's Trial: Jurors to Visit Property Where Migrant Was Fatally Shot

As the trial of Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly enters its second half, the judge has granted permission for jurors to visit the ranch where the fatal shooting of a migrant took place. The visit is expected to take place as early as this week, and it is intended to aid the jurors in making a fair determination of the allegations in this case.

Visits to the scene of a crime by jurors are relatively uncommon. In a similar case in 2018, federal jurors in the trial of a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged in the fatal shooting of a teen were taken to the scene of the shooting after dark to observe conditions as they may have been at the time. The former agent was ultimately acquitted in the killing.

Testimonies in the trial against Kelly have included statements by his wife, Wanda, who reported seeing two armed men on the ranch on the day of the shooting, and a Honduran man in a group of migrants who testified about witnessing the victim fall to the ground after being struck. Despite this, the bullet that killed the migrant was never recovered.

The Alleged Shooting

Kelly was arrested and charged last year in the fatal shooting of the migrant, who lived in Nogales, Mexico, just south of the border. Prosecutors have alleged that Kelly recklessly fired a rifle toward the migrants from a distance of about 100 yards (90 meters). Kelly and his defense team, however, reject this narrative.

The trial proceedings have been taking place four days a week since it began on March 22 and are expected to conclude on April 19. Border security has become a significant issue in this year's presidential contest, with Republican and Democratic leaders making visits to the Texas-Mexico border in late February. This case is unfolding amidst a broader political context where border policies and security are under intense scrutiny.