Court Announces Verdict in the Killing of Ahmaud Arbery – Opinion

Ahmaud Abery’s murder trial is over. The three men were found guilty of murder as well as other crimes. All three men were facing identical charges.

Travis McMichael pled guilty to all the charges including malice, felony, and aggravated murder.

Gregory McMichael, Travis’ father, was found guilty on all but one count: malice murder.

William “Roddie” Bryan was found not guilty on all but one count of felony murder. He was found guilty for aggravated assault and false imprisonment as well as criminal attempt to commit felonies.

After Judge Timothy Walmsley had adjourned court, celebrations broke out outside. Chants of “Ahmaud Arbery” reverberated throughout the crowd.

The case came to national attention after the video showing the incident which claimed Arbery’s life went viral on social media. The footage showed Arbery running toward Travis McMichael’s truck after a five-minute chase. Although they had no evidence, the armed men pursued Arbery believing that he was responsible in an area burglary. Travis walked towards Arbery’s truck and pulled out his shotgun, attempting to confront him. Arbery turned towards Travis and attempted to wrest the shotgun from Travis’ hands before being shot three times.

The defense attorneys for the men claimed that the Satilla Shores area was on edge due to a string of recent burglaries. They were able to view certain individuals suspiciously in a stressful environment. Travis also mentioned a prior encounter he claimed to have had with Arbery two week before, in which he suspected Arbery might be carrying a weapon.

Arbery was also portrayed by the defense as aggressor, while Travis claimed he acted in self-defense. The defense also attempted to portray the young man in the neighbourhood as a criminal, despite the fact the police did not tie him to any burglaries in the vicinity. The defense also contended that the three men were attempting to conduct a citizen’s arrest. Laura Hogue who represented Gregory McMichael, said one time:

“Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.”

Prosecution focused on the idea that three men took the decision to chase Arbery without any legitimate reason. In her opening statement, lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said that “all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions – not on facts, not on evidence.”

The prosecutor repeatedly pressed the point that none the men stopped and called the police to deal with the situation. The prosecutor used the video of the shooting to counter the defense’s argument that the men were just trying to detain Arbery. At one point during the chase, Gregory McMichael yelled “stop or I’ll blow your motherf*cking head off!”

There was widespread anger at the footage of the shooting. The issue escalated when it was revealed that the local government had been involved in the shooting.

Jackie Johnson, District Attorney intervened to keep the men in custody and made it clear that they didn’t intend to prosecute them. The video became public and there was a lot of outrage, so they decided to arrest the three men months later.

It was notable because this story featured a racial narrative and was the first in dozens. This contributed to growing anger towards local governments’ mistreatments of black Americans. The fact that Glynn County’s government attempted to cover the matter up and allow the McMichaels and Bryan to go free without so much as a trial was of particular concern.

Judge Walmsley stated that the court would set a date to sendencing these men after adjourning court.