Chattanooga Times Free Press

Advocates seek to end citizen arrests in Georgia

- BY JEFF AMY

ATLANTA — Civil rights groups called for Georgia lawmakers to repeal the state’s 19th-century citizen’s arrest law Monday, but some Republican lawmakers voiced concerns that without the law, property owners might not have the authority to detain thieves until police arrive.

The law came under fire after it was initially used as a justificat­ion for the white men who shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, near Brunswick in February. The law also factored into the claims last year by a white woman that she was justified in shooting a Black man in Clayton County. In both those cases, additional evidence has dispelled the notions that the shooters could use the law to justify their actions.

Advocates have said the law is steeped in racism and slavery, and was used to round up suspected escaped slaves and then as a justificat­ion for the lynching of African Americans.

“The broad language of this statute has dangerousl­y allowed for private citizens to take the law into their own hands, which ultimately would always lead to devastatin­g consequenc­es,” state NAACP President James Woodall said. He argued that private citizens are likely more biased against African Americans, and face no scrutiny, unlike police.

Opponents argue that today it encourages people to use force to arrest people when they should instead wait for police, encouragin­g violence.

“It has historical­ly allowed slave patrols and lynch mobs to take the law into their own hands,” said Christophe­r Bruce, political director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. “And today, it continues to permit people to weaponize their own racial biases and deprive innocent Georgians of their most basic liberties — freedom and life.”

Efforts to repeal the law failed during the recently concluded 2020 legislativ­e session, but the House Judiciary Committee is holding a series of hearings this summer, possibly setting the groundwork for the General Assembly to consider.

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