Jogger killed in Georgia
Three whites convicted of murdering African Americans
11/24/2021, 9:07 p.m
In 2020, a black jogger was chased by three white men in a car, threatened and then shot twice by Travis McMichael. The case had caused an uproar because only a video of the crime led to prosecution. All three perpetrators have now been convicted.
More than a year and a half after the killing of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in the US state of Georgia, the three white perpetrators have been found guilty on most of the charges. Defendant Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery, was found guilty by the jury of murder. The verdict was read in court in Brunswick. The two co-defendants involved in the pursuit of Arbery, the shooter’s father Gregory McMichael and her neighbor William Bryan, were each found guilty of, among other things, aggravated assault and manslaughter.
The sentences for the accused will be determined at a later date. You could face life imprisonment. 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead on February 23, 2020 while jogging in a suburb of Brunswick. According to investigators, they had initially pursued Arbery with their vehicle and then threatened them with firearms. According to the autopsy report, he was shot twice in the chest at point-blank range.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, welcomed the verdict outside the courthouse. Regarding her son, she said, “He will rest in peace now.” Attorney Ben Crump said the verdict marked a triumph of justice for the United States. Although only one of the defendants fired the fatal shots, the other two were also tried for Arbery’s murder – because of their involvement in the crime. Prosecutors argued the actions of all three men resulted in Arbery’s death.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty. The jury found father Gregory McMichael guilty on eight counts and neighbor William Bryan on six counts. The trial ended this week, and the jury had been deliberating on the verdict since Tuesday.
Men allegedly mistook Arbery for a burglar
The three men said they mistook the jogger for a burglar, citing a then-Georgia law that allowed citizens to arrest suspects. Video taken by Bryan shows the McMichaels, armed with a rifle and a revolver, blocking the path of the running Arbery with their pickup truck. There is an argument between Travis McMichael and Arbery, then several shots are heard and the black man collapses. Travis McMichael later protested in court that he acted in self-defense because Arbery attacked him.
The case was politically charged: Arbery’s death – together with the death of George Floyd in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis – led to the nationwide anti-racism protests that kept the United States in suspense in the summer of 2020. Outrage was caused by the fact that the judiciary only took action against the white men when the video of the incident became public months later.
Recently there was criticism that there was only one black juror on the twelve-person jury. In addition to the criminal case in Georgia, the men also face federal charges related to the alleged racial slur in the crime. The crime was classified as a “hate crime,” the Justice Department said last April.