Our country has a two-tiered justice system. One for the rich, white, Republican. One for the poor, often Black or brown. It is especially bad in the deep south, where racist views are still deeply held, although many try to hide them, especially when getting scrutinized to be placed on a jury where race is a factor. In the horrific case of the murder or Ahmaud Arbery, the young Black man who was murdered by 3 racist white men who chased him in pickup trucks and then murdered him in cold blood in the streets, it was unclear if his family would get justice in Georgia.
But, justice prevailed and all three were found guilty. Travis McMichael, the one who actually shot and killed Ahmaud, was found guilty of ALL 9 counts. His father, Greg McMichael, was found guilty of 8 of 9 (the only not guilty was malice murder). Roddie Bryan, the driver who videotaped the entire encounter, was found guilty of 6 of 9 charges.
Here is the breakdown:
The jury was not representative of the community, with 11 white and only 1 Black member, which was a concern that even the judge raised. They deliberated for roughly 10 hours and there was concern that this could be a Kyle Rittenhouse or George Zimmerman repeat. But JUSTICE PREVAILED.
The defense argued that the defendants were merely trying to conduct a citizen's arrest since they believed that Ahmaud had committed some sort of theft from a construction site, even though they had no evidence that this has happened nor did Ahmaud even have a bag or items with him. He was LITERALLY JUST JOGGING.
Following Arbery’s death, Georgia actually repealed the law allowing citizen's arrests, so this cannot be a defense going forward.
Twitter exploded:
THIS:
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.
