OCILLA, Ga. — Closing arguments are expected Thursday in the Ryan Duke trial after the defense rested its case and the prosecution offered a rebuttal.
The day started with a hearing about whether to allow testimony about Bo Dukes. Jurors were not present for the hearing, and Judge Bill Reinhardt ultimately ruled jurors would not hear the testimony once the trial resumed.
The prosecution called Mitchell Posey, a GBI inspector and medical examiner, as an expert in the analysis of Duke’s testimony.
Duke’s defense lawyers have argued he was under duress during the interview, that he was scared, and under the influence of painkillers.
Posey said the agent interviewing Duke made mistakes while questioning him, but he still found the confession credible.
“Because of the first 1:30 minute, there is no reason for an assumption [of guilt] anymore, which again is why I told you that is so important because without any techniques, without any tactics, without any mistake, we have the foundation of the admission. From that point on, it's just a matter of understanding the details and then being able to corroborate those details,” said Posey.
When cross-examined by the defense, Posey was visibly agitated at the repeated compound questions.
Apparently, the tedious testimony also affected a couple of jurors as the judge questioned them about falling asleep in the jury box.
The judge dismissed one of the jurors but allowed the other to stay on. Then, he reviewed the jury’s instructions with the attorneys.
Closing arguments are expected Thursday morning. Each side gets up to two hours.