Today in review
- The three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, were found guilty of murder. Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery as he was running through a Georgia neighborhood, was found guilty of malice murder and several charges of felony murder. Greg McMichael and William Bryan, who took part in the pursuit in two separate vehicles, were found guilty on multiple charges of felony murder. They face minimum sentences of life imprisonment. A judge will decide at a later date if they will be eligible for parole.
- Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, spoke outside court afterward. “It’s been a long fight, it’s been a hard fight,” she said.“To tell you the truth I never saw this day. Back in 2020 I never thought this day would come.”
- Joe Biden issued a statement following the guilty verdicts, saying: “Ahmaud Arbery’s killing – witnessed by the world on video – is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country.” He continued, “Nothing can bring Mr Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished.”
- Jon Ossoff, the senator from Georgia, and others called for further investigation. Ossoff said: “Further investigation is necessary to determine how and why officials initially refused to pursue the case”.
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The Georgia senator Raphael Warnock reacted to the verdict, writing on Twitter: “I’m grateful to the jury for their service and for a verdict that says Ahmaud Arbery’s life mattered.”
I'm grateful to the jury for their service and for a verdict that says Ahmaud Arbery’s life mattered. He was a son, a nephew, a child of God, and he did not deserve to die in this way.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) November 24, 2021
I'm praying for Ahmaud’s family as they begin the difficult journey towards healing.
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‘A long fight’: relief across the US as men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery
Relief, emotion and a sense of hope came flooding out in Brunswick, on social media, from the White House and across the US as the nation came to terms with the Ahmaud Arbery verdicts and their place in history.
Outside the Georgia courthouse, a joyous, flag-waving crowd repeatedly chanted: “Ahmaud Arbery! Say his name!” as the Arbery family, surrounded by their attorneys, emerged to address them.
“It’s been a long fight, it’s been a hard fight,” said Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones.
“To tell you the truth I never saw this day. Back in 2020 I never thought this day would come … Thank you to those who marched, the ones who prayed, thank you.”
Cooper-Jones said her son “will now rest in peace”.
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, thanked his son’s mother, and the activists and lawyers who helped draw attention to his son’s case.
“God put us all together to make this happen,” he said. “We conquered that lynch mob. We got that lynch mob … Today is a good day.”
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Arbery family, said although the outcome of the case was welcome, Ahmaud Arbery’s parents were still grieving their son.
“Even though this is not a celebration, it’s a reflection. The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob,” he told the courthouse crowd.
Read more:
Dozens of supporters marched through Brunswick, following the verdict. Here are some images from the day.
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Jon Ossoff, the senator from Georgia, said “further investigation is necessary to determine how and why officials initially refused to pursue the case”.
In a statement, the senator wrote:
Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers will be held accountable, but a historic civil rights mobilization was necessary for the killers to face prosecution at all. There was nearly impunity for this murder and further investigation is necessary to determine how and why officials initially refused to pursue the case. The circumstances of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and the struggle required to secure a prosecution demonstrate profoundly the urgency of reforms to make equal justice real in America.
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Today so far
• The three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, were found guilty of murder.
• Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery as he was running through a Georgia neighborhood, was found guilty of malice murder and several charges of felony murder.
• Greg McMichael and William Bryan, who took part in the pursuit in two separate vehicles, were found guilty on multiple charges of felony murder.
• The three men face minimum sentences of life imprisonment. A judge will decide at a later date if they will be eligible for parole.
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Here’s the moment Travis McMichael received his guilty verdict in court. McMichael was found guilty on all nine charges he faced, including malice murder and felony murder. He now faces life in prison for killing Ahmaud Arbery.
Kamala Harris has issued a statement on today’s verdicts:
Today, the jury rendered its verdicts and the three defendants were found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Still, we feel the weight of grief. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive and nothing can take away the pain that his mother Wanda Cooper-Jones, his father Marcus Arbery, and the entire Arbery family and community feel today. I share in that pain.
These verdicts send an important message, but the fact remains that we still have work to do. The defense counsel chose to set a tone that cast the attendance of ministers at the trial as intimidation and dehumanized a young Black man with racist tropes. The jury arrived at its verdicts despite these tactics.
Ahmaud Arbery was a son. He was a brother. He was a friend. His life had meaning. We will not forget him. We honor him best by continuing the fight for justice.
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The trial “touched on race and racism in the US, often echoing America’s segregated past as well as modern day prejudice”, my colleague Maya Yang writes:
“Arbery’s killing highlighted the dangers that Black Americans can face doing entirely ordinary things that white people can perceive as a threat. They can range from bird watching, to showing a house for sale to swimming.
“Arbery, a former high school football standout, loved to run. On 23 February last year, he was unarmed and out jogging through his neighborhood in Brunswick, Georgia, when he was tracked by the McMichaels and Bryan before being gunned down.
Relying on a defunct civil war-era law that deputizes citizens to police the movements of Black bodies and carry out citizen’s arrests of suspected criminals, the white men argued that they were acting in self-defense. And they believe they were legally justified in pursuing Arbery because they thought he matched the description of a burglary suspect.
Arbery’s death has reaffirmed a concern among many Black runners that they will be racially profiled or attacked while running in the United States. The multitude of racist experiences of “running while Black” has prompted runners to take precautionary measures such as wearing bright colors to appear non-threatening and running during daylight hours.
You can read Maya’s full piece here:
Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general, has issued a statement:
“The loss of Ahmaud Arbery was a tragedy that should have never occurred. Today’s verdict brings us one step closer to justice, healing and reconciliation for Ahmaud’s family, the community, the state and the nation.”
Lawyers for Arbery's murderer say they will appeal decision
Robert Rubin, attorney for Travis McMichael, has spoken outside court.
Asked if he plans to appeal, Rubin said: “Yes, absolutely.”
Jason Sheffield, another defense attorney for McMichael, said he wanted to thank “everyone who gathered here in front of the Glynn County courthouse”.
“We understand, more than you know, how valuable it is to have people come together, peacefully assemble,” Sheffield said.
“This is a very difficult day for Travis McMichael and Greg McMichael,” Sheffield said. The men “honestly believe” they were doing the right thing, he said.
Page Pate, a Georgia-based attorney, told CNN just now that it is unlikely an appeal will be successful. “It is hard to win an appeal case in Georgia,” Pate said.
Biden: Arbery murder "reminder of how far we have to go"
Joe Biden has issued a statement following the guilty verdicts against Ahmaud Arbery’s killers.
“Ahmaud Arbery’s killing – witnessed by the world on video – is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country,” Biden said.
“Mr Arbery should be here today, celebrating the holidays with his mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, and his father, Marcus Arbery. Nothing can bring Mr Arbery back to his family and to his community, but the verdict ensures that those who committed this horrible crime will be punished.
“While the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. Instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength, where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin.
“My administration will continue to do the hard work to ensure that equal justice under law is not just a phrase emblazoned in stone above the supreme court, but a reality for all Americans.”
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Here’s a breakdown from ABC News on the convictions of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William Bryan. All three face a minimum sentence of life imprisonment. The judge will decide at a later date whether they will ever be eligible for parole.
BREAKING: All three men found guilty of murder in trial over death of Ahmaud Arbery.
— ABC News (@ABC) November 24, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/GcWBjZb79M pic.twitter.com/FgfyxkVv91
Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the trial, has been praised for her presentation of the case. Speaking outside court, she said it had been a “team effort”.
“We really appreciate the support we had, the faith from Mr Arbery and Ms Cooper-Jones,” Dunikoski said, referring to Ahmaud Arbery’s father and mother.
The verdict today was “based on the facts, based on the evidence”, Dunikoski said.
Ahmaud Arbery's father speaks
Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s father, thanked his son’s mother and the activists and lawyers who helped draw attention to his son’s case.
“God put us all together to make this happen,” Arbery said.
“We conquered that lynch mob. We got that lynch mob.”
Arbery said: “We don’t want to see nobody go through this.”
He added: “Let’s keep fighting and making this world a better place for all human beings.”
“All human beings need to be treated equally,” Arbery said.
“Today is a good day.”
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Arbery's mother speaks
Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, has just spoken outside court.
“It’s been a long fight, it’s been a hard fight,” Cooper-Jones said.
“To tell you the truth I never saw this day. Back in 2020 I never thought this day would come.”
Cooper-Jones added: “Thank you to those who marched, the ones who prayed, thank you.”
Cooper-Jones said her son “will now rest in peace”.
"To tell you the truth I never saw this day ... I never thought this day would come."
— Jamal Andress (@JamalAndress) November 24, 2021
- Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery's mother. pic.twitter.com/cpHWNYSNNs
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Al Sharpton, civil rights activist and founder of National Action Network, has just been speaking outside court.
Arbery’s parents “lost a son”, Sharpton said: “But their son will go down in history as one that proved that if you hold on justice will come.”
Sharpton said: “A jury of 11 whites and one black, in the Deep South, stood up in the courtroom and said that Black lives do matter.”
More perspective, from Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for PBS Newshour and a political contributor for NBC News.
We can now legally call the killers of Ahmaud Arbery murderers.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) November 24, 2021
But I’m reminded that to those who loved Arbery and to so many others real justice would be him alive today and able to run without being attacked.
Jewel Wicker, editor-at-large at Capital B magazine in Atlanta, Georgia, writes:
Praying hard for the Arbery family. They still have to have yet another Thanksgiving without Ahmaud tomorrow.
— Jewel Wicker (@jewelwickershow) November 24, 2021
Mark Joseph Stern, a writer for Slate, has more on what it took to bring charges against Arbery’s killers.
The first prosecutor recused herself because one of the killers worked in her office. The second blamed Arbery for his own death, accusing him of an "aggressive nature." The third waited ages to arrest the killers. DAs did not want to prosecute these men.https://t.co/mUxSXYdvfC https://t.co/WAASrTumOV pic.twitter.com/jHNNF35Nq6
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) November 24, 2021
Bakari Sellers, attorney and political commentator, just told CNN:
“Ahmaud Arbery being alive is justice,” but Sellers added that the verdicts added up to a measure of “accountability”.
“We found out today that lynching is still illegal in the United States of America,” he said.
Derrick Johnson, president & CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, writes:
The three men found guilty of their crimes will have days, months, and years to consider and explain why they felt so empowered to imprison and take the life of #AhmaudArbery.
— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) November 24, 2021
They have time. Time Ahmaud was deprived of.
The McMichaels and Bryan still face hate-crime charges in federal court in February. The Department of Justice alleges the men “used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race”.
None of the men found guilty of murdering Arbery were charged until eyewitness footage was made public months after the 25-year-old was killed, a point made by Keith Boykin, author of Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America.
Remember, if local authorities in Georgia had their way, no one would have ever been charged for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 24, 2021
It took weeks of protest before charges were even brought in the case, 74 days after Arbery was shot and killed in February 2020.
Arbery's murderers face life in prison - sentencing at later date
The minimum penalty for malice murder, and for felony murder, is life in prison, Associated Press reported:
It is up to the judge to decide whether that comes with or without the possibility of parole. Even if the possibility of parole is granted, a person convicted of murder must serve 30 years before becoming eligible.
“The sentence for felony murder and malice murder is exactly the same,” Ron Carlson, a University of Georgia law professor, said.
“It is a distinction without a difference in terms of punishment.”
Murder can also be punishable by death in Georgia if the killing meets certain criteria and the prosecutor chooses to seek the death penalty. Prosecutors in this case did not.
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All three men found guilty of murder
Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William Bryan have been found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
The three men pursued Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, through their neighborhood on 23 February 2020, before Travis McMichael shot and killed him.
Travis McMichael was found guilty of malice murder and felony murder. Greg McMichael, his father, was found not guilty of malice murder, but guilty of felony murder.
Bryan was found not guilty of malice murder, but guilty of felony murder.
The men were also found guilty on several other charges, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
Under Georgia law malice murder is when a person “unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being”.
Felony murder applies when someone who has no plans to kill intentionally commits another felony and a person dies as a result. The person must be convicted of the underlying felony to be found guilty of felony murder.
William Bryan is found not guilty of malice murder, but guilty of three charges of felony murder.
Greg McMichael found not guilty of malice murder, guilty of felony murder.
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Travis McMichael is found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
Verdict imminent in trial of three men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
The jury in the trial of three men in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery is returning to court, with a verdict imminent.
Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting the 25-year-old Black man running in their neighborhood on 23 February 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded Travis McMichael opening fire as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for his shotgun.
Defense attorneys said the men suspected Arbery had burglarized a house under construction and intended to hold him until police arrived.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence Arbery committed any crimes in the neighborhood and no evidence has been presented linking Arbery to any burglary. They said the men chased Arbery for five minutes and used their trucks to prevent him from fleeing before Travis McMichael shot him.
All three men face charges of malice murder and felony murder as well as false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. If convicted they could face life in prison.
The jury in the case are nearly all white, and race has been a key theme in the case and the trial.
We’ll follow developments here.
Here’s a look at the case from before the trial began, by our southern bureau chief, Oliver Laughland:
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