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| Ahmaud Arbery |
Wednesday, following eight days of testimony and two days of deliberation, a jury of nine White women,
two White men and one Black man, delivered guilty verdicts in the trial of three White men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County Georgia last year.
The 25-year-old Black man was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, 2020, when Travis McMichael (35) and his father Gregory McMichael (65), grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup. Their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. (52) later joined the pursuit in his own pickup and ended up recording cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery.
The video, which leaked online two months after the killings, was key in the prosecution of the crime in which federal authorities allege the three men chased and killed Arbery because he was black. Prosecutors in the current trial did not argue that racism motivated the killing, but the trio will face federal hate crime charges in a trial scheduled for February.
Following the verdict, outside the courthouse, Ahmaud's father Marcus Arbery Jr., said his son never did anything wrong.
"He didn't do nothing but run, run and dream. He's always been a curious kid. He always wanted to see things," an emotional Arbery Jr. said as he greeted family and supporters with smiles and handshakes. with. "All he wanted to do was run and dream."
two White men and one Black man, delivered guilty verdicts in the trial of three White men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County Georgia last year.
The 25-year-old Black man was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, 2020, when Travis McMichael (35) and his father Gregory McMichael (65), grabbed their guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup. Their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. (52) later joined the pursuit in his own pickup and ended up recording cellphone video of Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery.
The video, which leaked online two months after the killings, was key in the prosecution of the crime in which federal authorities allege the three men chased and killed Arbery because he was black. Prosecutors in the current trial did not argue that racism motivated the killing, but the trio will face federal hate crime charges in a trial scheduled for February.
Following the verdict, outside the courthouse, Ahmaud's father Marcus Arbery Jr., said his son never did anything wrong.
"He didn't do nothing but run, run and dream. He's always been a curious kid. He always wanted to see things," an emotional Arbery Jr. said as he greeted family and supporters with smiles and handshakes. with. "All he wanted to do was run and dream."
Ahmaud Arbery's father Marcus Arbery, who cheered in the courtroom after the first guilty verdict in his son's murder trial:
— The Recount (@therecount) November 24, 2021]
"I don't want to see no daddy watch their kid get lynched and shot down like that ... Today is a good day." pic.twitter.com/m6zyyQ6j3z
Arbery Jr. added, "For real, all lives matter. Not just Black children. We don't want to see nobody go through this. I wouldn't want to see no daddy watch their kid get lynched and shot down like that."
"It's all our problem. So hey, let's keep fighting. Let's keep doing and making this a better place for all human beings."
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| From left to right, William "Roddie" Bryan, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael |
The shooter Travis McMichael was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Gregory McMichael and William Bryan were acquitted of malice murder but convicted on the other counts. All three men stood trial for murder because it was determined by the jury that they committed crimes that contributed to Arbery's death.
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