Racial and racial tensions were evident inside and outside the Georgia courtroom where the three men were tried, even as both the defense and the prosecution avoided discussions. there. Instead, the jury heard from the defense several racist dog whistles.
Here’s why the heartbreaking trial is a prime example of the criminalization and dehumanization of Black male victims:
Defense attorney says Arbery has ‘long and dirty toenails’
During the final arguments, defense attorney Gregory McMichael, one of those accused of Arbery’s murder, attempted to portray Arbery as a “runaway slave,” said Charles Coleman Jr., a civil attorney. rights and former prosecutor, said.
“The victimization of Ahmaud Arbery after the choices he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long and dirty toenails. me,” attorney Laura Hogue told jurors.
The comment appeared to be based on Arbery’s autopsy, which brought gasps from those in the courtroom and prompted Arbery’s mother to step outside.
“No matter what toenail he has, what size toenail, that’s still my son, and my son is literally racing for his life in that description. I think that’s rude.” Wanda, Arbery’s mother. Cooper-Jones, told CNN’s John Berman on “AC 360” earlier this week.
As for Cooper-Jones, the defense is trying to dismiss the fact that they do not have “appropriate evidence to convict.”
The pedicure comment tried to signal to jurors that Arbery was “one of those black people” not someone you would admire or respect,” said Maxwell, someone that “you can’t be” trusting and not taking care of himself.”
Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Arbery’s father, said that Hogue used “flamboyant language”.
“She’s saying he’s a scary Negro, and so if you say he’s a scary Negro and get the jury to believe that, then you want them to figure it out for themselves. saw on that video a human being chased and was told by Crump to CNN.
Arbery is associated with crime and fear
The fear is another racist whistle used by defense attorneys, who highlight the anxieties caused by a range of unreported crimes in the vicinity.
He testified that the person he would later describe to police as Black, had “pulled up his shirt” and went to look for his “pocket, waistband area”. McMichael said he assumed the person had a weapon so he jumped back into his car, and the person ran to the house under construction. He called authorities, but the police never arrested, spoke to or even saw the person he said he saw that night, he testified.
When he met Arbery a few weeks later, McMichael was fearing for his life and that of his father, defense attorney Jason Sheffield argued in court.
His family said Arbery was jogging and stopped at the unoccupied house. Prosecutors showed the jury surveillance videos of Arbery entering the site, each time wandering off and leaving without incident.
However, the defense asserted that, even if he did not steal anything, Arbery committed the theft because he illegally entered the house under construction.
Anderson, the historian, says that people of many races and ethnicities look at the houses being built, and their behavior is seen as standard or normal.
“But for a Negro to do that, it’s somehow criminal. So you can criminalize Blacks through this,” Anderson said.
The McMicheals decision to fire Arbery, Anderson said, was rooted in the idea that Blacks were criminals.
“This is like a slave patrol feeling that they have the right to question Negroes, police Black activities, challenge Negroes wherever they are,” Anderson said.
Defense thinks black pastor is threatening
Gough said that having high-profile figures is scary and is intended to pressure or influence the jury. While he apologized for his comments, a few days later, more than 100 Black pastors formed a “Wall of Prayer” to show their solidarity with the Arbery family and their outcry. with Gough’s comments.
“When he looks at the jury and says things like, ‘Every last Anglo-Saxon, one of you knows that this is what we’re fighting for here. You’ll see these people don’t. guilty.” That’s what that sounds like to me,” Anderson said.
“It sounds like ‘Every last Anglo-Saxon, who among you knows that the Blacks are threatening. They’re scary. And they’re out to destroy our community. What McMichaels and What Bryan did was protect our community’,” she added.
An almost all white jury
Scholars and legal experts say the segregation is reminiscent of the Jim Crow era and quickly draw comparisons to the aftermath of Emmett Till’s death.
“Here about 65 years later, we’ve come to the point where it’s likely that a Black juror will sit on this jury,” said Daryl D. Jones, an attorney with the Transformational Justice Coalition. , referring to the 1955 trial in which the two men arrested in the murder of Till were acquitted by an all-white jury.
During the jury selection process, defense attorneys were criticized when they expressed concern about the lack of “Bubba” men.
“It seems that Southern-born white men, over 40, without a 4-year college degree, sometimes colloquially referred to as ‘Bubba’ or ‘Joe Six Pack,’ seem to be significantly lower presentation,” attorney Gough, who represented Bryan, told the court at the time.
Other cases ‘strangely similar’
“Remember they assassinated Trayvon Martin’s character after he was assassinated, and now they’re doing the same thing almost 10 years later with Ahmaud Arbery. I mean, the similarities are uncanny. “, Crump, the attorney representing Arbery’s father, said hours before the verdict was read out on Wednesday,
Crump also called the case “Trayvon Martin 2.0” on CNN’s New Day.
Martin was 17 when he was shot dead by George Zimmerman in 2012. The shooting and Zimmerman’s subsequent acquittal in 2013 launched the Black Lives Matter movement and reminded Americans that they don’t live in a post-race society. ethnicity.
Following Martin’s death, protesters across the country wore hoodies to nod to the gunman’s description of the boy. Zimmerman told the 911 operator that he saw a “suspicious” person wearing a “black hood” before he shot the teenager he said was in self-defense, according to police. Martin’s family and supporters say they believe race played a role in the shooting.
But nearly 10 years after Martin’s death, civil rights activists and protesters have taken some comfort from Wednesday’s ruling in Arbery’s death trial.
Speaking outside the courtroom following the convictions of all three defendants, Crump’s family attorney said: “Think about how he (Marcus Arbery Sr.) and Wanda have endured every word, every charge, every character assassination, long legs with dirty toenails. Imagine all they’ve been through.”
CNN’s Alta Spells, Angela Barajas, Theresa Waldrop and Amir Vera contributed to this report.
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