ATLANTA — The Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that recorded jail phone calls made by Barron Brantley, the man accused of murdering Clark Atlanta University student Alexis Crawford in 2019, can be used as evidence in his upcoming trial.

Brantley, who was dating Crawford’s roommate at the time of her death, had sought to block prosecutors from using phone calls he made from jail, arguing they violated his right to privacy. However, the state’s highest court disagreed, stating that inmates have no reasonable expectation of privacy when using jail phones unless the conversation is with an attorney.

Prosecutors say Brantley made incriminating statements during phone calls with family members, allegedly admitting his role in Crawford’s death. A lower court judge had initially ruled those calls inadmissible, citing privacy concerns and questioning how the recordings were obtained.

Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Armstrong argued before the Supreme Court that Brantley was aware the calls were being recorded, as the jail system announces it at the start of each call.

“There’s nothing unfair about a defendant’s inculpatory statements that he makes on a jail call to his loved ones,” Armstrong told the court. “For the reasonable expectation of privacy, you have to attempt to keep it private. He did not do that.”

Brantley had claimed that if he were out on bond, authorities would have needed a wiretap to access such calls. But the court emphasized he was in jail at the time and that under Georgia law, jail phone calls, unless made to legal counsel, do not carry privacy protections.

With this ruling, the phone recordings are now allowed to be presented as evidence during Brantley’s murder trial in Fulton County.