Trial in Ahmaud Arbery’s killing nears going to jury

BRUNSWICK, GA. » Prosecutors went before a jury one last time Tuesday before the panel begins deliberations in the trial of three white men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

The prosecution gets the final word in the case of the 25-yearold Black man’s death because it carries the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent hours on Monday delivering closing arguments that spilled into a second day.

After the prosecution wraps up, Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley will give instructions to the disproportionately white jury on how to apply the law before it begins deliberations at the Glynn County courthouse in the port city of Brunswick.

Arbery’s killing became part of a larger national reckoning on racial injustice after a graphic video of his death leaked online two months later.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running through their subdivision on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded the video of Travis McMichael opening fire as Arbery threw punches and grabbed for McMichael’s shotgun.

No one was charged in the killing until Bryan’s video leaked and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. All three men are charged with murder and other offenses.

Dueling arguments

In her final arguments, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury Tuesday that the defendants can’t claim self-defense in Arbery’s death, because they threatened him both with their pickup trucks and by pointing a shotgun at him before the final confrontation in which Arbery threw punches and grabbed for the gun.

“You can’t claim self-defense if you are the unjustified aggressor,” Dunikoski said. “Who started this? It wasn’t Ahmaud Arbery.”

In her initial closing arguments on Monday, Donikoski told the jury that the McMichaels and Bryan “made the decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down the street.”

Defense attorneys used their closing arguments Monday to argue that the McMichaels were attempting a legal citizen’s arrest when they set off after Arbery, seeking to detain and question him as a suspected burglar after he was seen running from a nearby home under construction.

Attorney Jason Sheffield said his client, Travis McMichael, fired his shotgun in self-defense after Arbery charged at him, threw punches and tried to grab the weapon. Sheffield called Arbery’s death a tragedy, but one that was his own fault.

Attorneys for the other two defendants blamed Arbery as well. Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, said Arbery “chose to fight.” Kevin Gough, who represents Bryan, questioned why Arbery didn’t call for help if he was in danger.

“Maybe that’s because Mr. Arbery doesn’t want help,” Gough said.

Prosecutors said there was no evidence Arbery had committed crimes in the defendants’ neighborhood. He had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing at the time to study to become an electrician like his uncles.