The three men who filmed and performed the execution-style shooting death of Ahmaud Abrery have been convicted in a Glynn County, Georgia, courtroom.
The defendants — Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan — were all found guilty of felony murder in the killing of Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man fatally shot while out for a jog on February 23, 2020.
The three white men, who all pleaded not guilty, were facing charges ranging felony murder to criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
In closing arguments earlier in the week, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski argued that trio could not claim self-defense because there was no evidence of Arbery committing a crime or being named in one.
Man Involved In Slaying Of Ahmaud Arbery Convicted Of Murder
One week after the slaying, Arbery’s family had been calling for Bryan’s arrest even as he has been doing a lot of press interviews with his lawyer.
In the weeks that followed, many people feared a racial controversy stirred up by outsiders.
Benjamin Crump and S. Lee Merritt, the attorneys for the victim’s family, did their part to publicize the case. They said in a statement that “The family of Ahmaud Arbery was relieved to learn the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has today taken William ‘Roddie’ Bryan into custody.”
“We called for his arrest from the very beginning of this process,” they said. “His involvement in the murder of Mr. Arbery was obvious to us, to many around this country and after their thorough investigation, it was clear to the GBI as well.”
Gregory and Travis McMichael have told authorities that they thought Arbery fit the description of a burglar who had been seen in the area recently.
The victim’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, told reporters her son was just jogging like he does every day.
“I saw my son come into the world,” Jones said, according to CBS News. “And seeing him leave the world, it’s not something that I’ll want to see ever.”
“These men were vigilantes, they were a posse and they performed a modern lynching in the middle of the day,” Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery’s mother, was quoted as saying.
On the video, you can see Travis McMichael struggle with Arbery for the gun before you hear a gunblast, then another one to the chest.
In the police report, McMichael reportedly says that Arbery “began to violently attack” him, leaving him no choice but to shoot.
As the jurors all agreed, that was simply not true.