As the trial of Erik Sparre approaches, his defense attorneys are requesting that any mention of racist statements or slurs be excluded from the proceedings.

Sparre is charged with the 1985 murders of Harold and Thelma Swain inside the Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Camden County, Georgia.

Erik Sparre’s trial is set to begin with jury selection in late October. Sparre was arrested in December 2024 for the murders of the Swains, a case that had previously led to the wrongful conviction and eventual exoneration of another man, Dennis Perry. The defense has filed over a dozen motions in preparation for the trial.

During a motions hearing Thursday, Sparre’s attorneys argued against the inclusion of any references to racial slurs, Confederate flags, or affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan.

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