The three men who were found guilty of Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting death have now been also found guilty of hate crimes. A jury in Brunswick, GA made this decision which is developing this morning.
It took them less than one full day to come to their decision. The jury had to decide whether or not “race was a motivating factor” in what lead to tragedy that caused Arbery’s death. Greg and Travis McMichael, as well as William Bryan were found guilty on all counts. The men were charged with ”violating Arbery’s civil rights and kidnapping” and just the McMichaels were charged with ”use of a firearm to commit a crime”.
The jury had look at evidence and listen to testimony that allegedly proved Arbery was targeted because he was Black.
Apparently text messages were used as well as testimony by others. The three men’s lawyers made different defenses but none of them satisfied the jury in this case that has been fueled by national media attention.
NPR reported in part:
Bryan’s attorney, Pete Theodocion, tried to emphasize the differences between his client and the other two, telling jurors that Bryan “wasn’t trying to be Johnny Law-Enforcement,” but “his instinct told him people don’t get chased like that unless they’ve done something wrong, and in some cases very wrong.”
“These defendants saw Ahmaud as less than human, as less than an animal,” prosecutor Lyons told jurors in her final rebuttal before Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sent the jurors out to deliberate on Monday afternoon. Lyons emphasized that they showed no remorse as Arbery was bleeding in the street.
This case seems to be unique in that the three men had their personal opinions about race used against them in a shooting that didn’t appear pre planned. The men has argued that they were trying to make a citizen’s arrest. We reported on the first verdict:
Some may question if this case sets new legal precedent. Many however will be happy with the outcome as well.
