After day of character attacks on Ahmaud Arbery, jury now finally in deliberation
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Following an ugly day of closing arguments where defense attorneys painted Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man chased and killed by a trio of white men last year as an unstable criminal, the prosecution wrapped up proceedings with a rebuttal staunchlyAfter day of character attacks on Ahmaud Arbery, jury now finally in deliberation
Following an ugly day of closing arguments where defense attorneys painted Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man chased and killed by a trio of white men last year as an unstable criminal, the prosecution wrapped up proceedings with a rebuttal staunchly challenging the trio’s claims to self-defense. Travis and Greg McMichael, a father-son duo, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., are accused of chasing and murdering Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia last February. After more than 10 days of proceedings that have often been emotionally charged, closing arguments finally concluded on Tuesday. Urging jurors to wrestle with whether they could trust the McMichaels’ defense prosecutor Linda Dunikoski asked the panel, plainly, to hold the men to account. “Ladies and gentleman, here’s the thing: This is not about whether these three men are good people or bad people. That’s not what this about. It’s about responsibility. It is about holding people accountable and responsible for their actions,” she said. Further, she emphasized that the jury should weigh the actions of all three defendants as equal. Though it was Travis McMichael who pulled the trigger and killed Arbery, Greg McMichael helped him chase Arbery in the pick up truck and then attempted to control the narrative at the crime scene after Arbery lay dead in the middle of the street. “They were working together, Greg and Travis McMichael. That’s why they are both responsible. You think Greg McMichael is not a murderer? Yes he is. He is just as big of a murderer as Travis McMichael,” Dunikoski said. As for Williiam “Roddie” Bryan Jr., without his chasing Arbery towards the McMichaels men, “we would not be here,” she added. Further claims by the defendants that they were merely acting under the color of their experience—like Travis McMichael’s assertion that he was operating on ‘muscle memory’ training from the U.S. Coast Guard when he stopped Arbery and ordered him to comply—also didn’t make the grade, the state argued. Travis had no badge, no uniform and no authority. While Travis McMichael argues he was merely conducting a citizen’s arrest before having to defend himself against a purportedly menacing Arbery; critically, the prosecution noted Tuesday, McMichael never bothered to tell Arbery what he was doing when he demanded the young man stop. “Never once, never once did he tell Mr. Arbery he was under arrest,” Dunikoski said. Read more
