Georgia jury convicts three white men of Arbery murder, rejects self-defence
BRUNSWICK, Ga., (Reuters) - Three white men were convicted of murder yesterday for chasing and shooting Ahmaud Arbery as the Black man ran through their neighbourhood, with a Georgia jury rejecting a self-defence claim in a trial that once again probed America's divisive issues of race and guns.
The verdicts were delivered by the jury of one Black man and 11 white men and women on its second day of deliberations after about a two-week trial of Gregory McMichael, 65, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, in the coastal city of Brunswick.
The case hinged on whether the defendants under a now-repealed Georgia law permitting citizen arrests had a right to confront the unarmed 25-year-old avid jogger last year on a hunch he was fleeing a crime. Defense lawyers also argued self-defense centered upon a contested claim by Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots, that Arbery moments earlier had grabbed the pump-action shotgun that was used to kill him.
All three defendants were convicted of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony. They face a minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Defense lawyers said they will appeal.
President Joe Biden said the convictions showed that America's criminal justice system is "doing its job," though the killing was "a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country."
"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," Biden said in a statement.