In the case of Ahmaud Abery, 25, being killed on February 23, 2020 in Ahmaud’s home, the defense and the prosecution each gave closing arguments. The jury has been instructed by Judge Timothy Walmsley on law in this case. They are now deliberating to reach a verdict.
Because of the Kyle Rittenhouse matter, much has been made about this trial that began in November 2021. But since that particular trial has come to a close, the nation will be focused on the outcomes of the trial of Gregory and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan, who are facing multiple charges in connection with the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.
CNN noted that the trial consisted of “11 White jurors and one Black juror began deliberating on the charges facing Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael and their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men accused of chasing and killing 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery just before noon this morning.”
There was much contention about the composition of the jury, as only one of the black jurors survived. Despite the challenges of the prosecution, jury members remained as they were. Judge Walmsley stated:
“This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination,” but ruled that the case could go forward with the selected jurors because the defense was able to provide valid reasons, beyond race, for why the other Black jurors were dismissed.”
CNN noted that Glynn County’s racial makeup is “70% White and 27% Black according to information from the US Census Bureau.”
This was also the explanation of the outlet:
The nine charges against each defendant include malice, felony murder (4), aggravated attack (2), false imprisonment and criminal attempt (1/2).
Bryan could be found innocent of the second count of aggravated assault. The jury can then consider other misdemeanor charges, such as reckless conduct or simple assault.
Each of the defendants has pleaded guilty or not guilty to each charge. The McMichael’s claimed they were trying to carry out a citizen’s arrest after seeing Arbery running past their house. Defense also claimed Travis McMichael shot and killed the young man in self-defense.
Before sending the jury to deliberate, he instructed them on Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law. He said:
“A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence, or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony, and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable or probable grounds of suspicion.”
The defense “raised numerous objections to the state’s description of the law for making a citizen’s arrest,” according to CNN.
He also noted that a “private person” is not allowed to conduct a citizen’s arrest based on “unsupported statement of others alone” and that the arrest must happen “immediately after” the crime happens or “in the case of felonies, during escape.”
The judge concluded, “if the observer fails to make the arrest immediately after the commission of the offense, or during the escape in the case of felonies, his power to do so is extinguished.”
Throughout the trial, the defense emphasized the narrative that the McMichaels were attempting to conduct a lawful citizen’s arrest when Arbery put Travis McMichael in the position of having to defend himself. Roddie Bryan’s lawyer has attempted to distance his client from the McMichaels, noting that he was not the one who initiated the chase and documented it on video for posterity.
Laura Hogue (an attorney for Gregory McMichael) became the subject of much controversy during her closing argument when she made disparaging remarks about Arbery. She stated:
“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,”
The comment prompted Arbery’s mother to get up and walk out of the courtroom. She later told CNN’s John Berman:
“I thought it was very, very rude to talk about his long, dirty toenails and to totally neglect that my son had a huge hole in his chest when he was shot with that shotgun.”
McMichaels believed Arbery had burgled a house in construction, according to defense. However, they were only trying to keep him there until the police arrive. “Security cameras recorded Arbery inside the house five times, but none of the videos showed him stealing or damaging anything,” according to the Associated Press.
“He chose to fight,” said Hogue, stating that “without any sense of reason to run at a man wielding a shotgun, leaving him with no other alternative but to be placed in a position to kill him.”
Kevin Gough, Bryan’s attorney,” argued that if Arbery was scared he should have cried out for help.
“Why isn’t he calling out, `Hey, somebody call 911! There’s crazy people after me,’” he said. “Maybe that’s because Mr. Arbery doesn’t want help.”
The lawyer also argued that Bryan was not aware that the McMichaels were carrying firearms until moments before the shooting and even went so far as to imply that God himself guided Roddie’s actions that day.
“You you can call it karma. It could also be called destiny. I would call it divine providence,” the attorney said. “Somebody is guiding Mr. Bryan, whether it’s a conscious thought process or not. Something is guiding Mr. Bryan down this street to document what’s going on.”
The defense tried to establish the situation throughout the trial, including the closing arguments. They noted that there had been a series of thefts and burglaries in the area during the week leading to February 23. The defense painted a picture of an already troubled neighborhood when Arbery ran on the same day. Arbery never was involved in any of the thefts or burglaries that took place around this area.
According to the prosecution, all three men chased Arbery without valid motive. She noted the fact that Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law did not give them the right to chase the young man with firearms.
Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski, in her opening statement, argued: “All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions – not on facts, not on evidence.”
Dunikoski emphasized throughout that the entire proceedings the fact no man tried to chase Arbery to death by calling the police.
BBC News:
The jury was shown footage taken by police body camera in the seconds just before Mr Arbery’s death on 8 November. Prosecutors used the video in court in an effort to undermine the defence’s argument that the three men were simply trying to detain Mr Arbery.
“You had no choice,” the elder McMichael is heard telling Travis as the first officer approaches. Only a few steps away, Mr Arbery is seen lying on the ground.
During her closing argument, the prosecutor said the three men jumped to conclusions about Arbery that were inaccurate and tried to detain him “without legal authority.”
She argued that “you can’t create the situation and then go ‘I was defending myself’,” and that the men took action because Arbery “was a black man running down the street.”
The men are unlikely to be freed at this stage. Although the video is quite disturbing and although the defense tried to make reasonable doubts, details such as the video and statements made by the men to police following the shooting and the fact they weren’t able to link Arbery with a crime, could show the jury that Bryan and McMichaels acted in an inappropriate manner that day. Of course, that “long, dirty,” didn’t do them any favors.
McMichaels may have had the ability to make decisions during the dispute that could have saved the unfortunate outcome. This isn’t a guarantee that the prosecution will win. Unambiguous: This is the job of the jury.
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