21 months after an innocent 26 year old man Ahmaud Arbery was brutally murdered by three Caucasians, a Georgia Jury has convicted the three whitemen of murder on Wednesday 24th November for chasing and shooting to death.
Ahmaud Arbery was only jogging through their neighborhood, when the three men accosted him and killed him. The Georgia jury rejected the self-defense claim; by the killers in a trial that once again probed America’s divisive issues of race and guns.
According to Reuters, The verdicts were delivered by the jury, which consists of one Black man and 11 white men and women; and lingered for about a two-week trial in the coastal city of Brunswick; in a case that hinged on whether the defendants; had a right to confront the unarmed 25-year-old avid jogger last year on a hunch he was fleeing a crime.
Defense lawyers had cited a Georgia law that allowed anyone to make a citizen’s arrest of individuals; they have reasonable suspicion are fleeing a serious crime they committed, though the jury ultimately rejected that defense. The law was repealed in the wake of Arbery’s killing.
Lawyers for the McMichaels argued that the killing was justified after Arbery ran past the McMichaels’ driveway; in a neighborhood that had experienced a spate of property thefts. Both McMichaels grabbed their guns and jumped in their pickup truck in pursuit, with Bryan, unarmed, joining moments later.
Here are the charges all three killers of Ahmaud Arbery were convicted of
Travis McMichael
1. Malice murder – GUILTY
2. Felony murder – GUILTY
3. Felony murder – GUILTY
4. Felony murder – GUILTY
5. Felony murder – GUILTY
6. Aggravated assault – GUILTY
7. Aggravated assault – GUILTY
8. False imprisonment – GUILTY
9. Criminal attempt to commit a felony – GUILTY
Greg McMichael
1. Malice murder – NOT GUILTY
2. Felony murder – GUILTY
3. Felony murder – GUILTY
4. Felony murder – GUILTY
5. Felony murder – GUILTY
6. Aggravated assault – GUILTY
7. Aggravated assault – GUILTY
8. False imprisonment – GUILTY
9. Criminal attempt to commit a felony – GUILTY
William “Roddie” Bryan
1. Malice murder – NOT GUILTY
2. Felony murder – NOT GUILTY
3. Felony murder – GUILTY
4. Felony murder – GUILTY
5. Felony murder – GUILTY
6. Aggravated assault – NOT GUILTY
7. Aggravated assault – GUILTY
8. False imprisonment – GUILTY
9. Criminal attempt to commit a felony – GUILTY
