Status: 11/25/2021 00:56 a.m
More than a year and a half following the killing of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery, a jury in the US state of Georgia found the three white suspects guilty of murder. The victim’s family and friends were relieved.
It was an emotionally charged followingnoon in Brunswick, Georgia. There was cheering, laughing and a lot of Amen shouted. “Tell the world,” cried Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent minister and civil rights activist, “that a jury of 11 whites and one black in the deep south said black lives matter.”
A jury in Brunswick, Georgia found three white men guilty of killing a young black man. Travis McMichael, the gunman, is in prison for treacherous murder. His father Greg and neighbor William Bryan were convicted of aggravated assault, among other charges. All three face life imprisonment.
The victim, Ahmaud Arbery, was out on a Sunday jog in late February 2020 when he was chased and shot by the three men in cars. The three mistook him for a burglar and wanted to arrest him. That kind of civil arrest was possible in Georgia at the time. As Arbery, cornered, fought back, the younger McMichael fired three point-blank shots, killing him.
The whole thing might be seen on a cell phone video that was released weeks following the crime. Until then, no one had been arrested.
Large participation in anti-racism demos
The case became known across the United States. Arbery’s fate mobilized people to take part in anti-racism demonstrations. The process was followed with corresponding intensity. The fact that only one of the 12 jurors was black, where more than 30 percent of the residents of Georgia are black, was striking.
Also the appearance of defense attorney Kevin Gough, who complained regarding the supporters of the family of the deceased: “We don’t want any more black pastors here!” Prominent personalities like Al Sharpton sat next to the family and tried to influence the jury. Judge Walmsley countered: He will not exclude the public from this courtroom across the board. Hundreds of mainly black pastors demonstrated shortly followingwards in front of the courthouse.
For President Joe Biden, the verdict means that the rule of law is working properly. But he warned that everyone must commit to building a future in which no one has to fear violence because of the color of their skin.
Did Arbery die for being black?
For the three convicts, the trial is not yet over. They will face charges of a hate crime in a federal trial next year. Then there is the question of whether Ahmaud Arbery had to die because he was black.
Black Jogger Murdered – Three White Men Guilty
Katrin Brand, ARD Washington, November 25, 2021 · 12:00 a.m
