A jury in Georgia has found three white men, Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William Bryan, guilty in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020.
The three men will face a possible sentence of life in prison, and will also be tried on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges in federal court in 2022, reports HUFFPOST.
Travis McMichael was found guilty of murder on all counts in the death of Arbery, a Black man, including malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
His father, Gregory McMichael, was also found guilty on all counts of felony murder, but not guilty on the count of malice murder; while William Bryan was also found guilty on three counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment, but was found not guilty on the additional charges.
The charges stem from the Feb. 23, 2020, incident in which the McMichaels chased 25-year-old Arbery in a truck and then attacked him. Bryan joined the pursuit and filmed it. The defendants claimed they were attempting a “citizen’s arrest” over concerns about theft in their Satilla Shores neighborhood. Travis McMichael claimed on the stand that he had fired his gun as an act of self-defense, after Arbery allegedly struck him during their encounter.
In a press conference following the verdict, Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones said, "I never thought this day would come, but God is Good."
Attorney Ben Crump, who has been representing Arbery's family, said, “You can’t experience the pain of a mother and a father who witnessed what they witnessed and not being able to protect their child."
He stated that every parent in America can take solace in knowing that they have an example of how to deal with tragedy and grief when they look at the example of Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper.
State prosecutor, Linda Dunikoski presented evidence which showed a shift in critical statement that Travis gave to the police and on the stand, noting that there was no evidence of Arbery stealing anything from a construction site in the neighborhood.
Property owner of the site, Larry English also testified that he had never reported anything stolen from the site. While security footage from the site showed Arbery and other people, including a white man and woman, walking in and out of the site in the months before the incident.
The Jury that convicted the three men were composed of 11 white and one Black member.
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