From left: Marcus Arbery, father of Ahmaud Arbery; attorney Ben Crump; Father Al Sharpton; Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery; and attorney Lee Merritt speak to the media following the guilty verdicts handed down to the defendants during the trial of the Ahmaud Arbery killers Wednesday in Brunswick, Ga.
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From left: Marcus Arbery, father of Ahmaud Arbery; attorney Ben Crump; Father Al Sharpton; Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery; and attorney Lee Merritt speak to the media following the guilty verdicts handed down to the defendants during the trial of the Ahmaud Arbery killers Wednesday in Brunswick, Ga.
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Civil rights activists, lawyers and politicians joined Ahmaud Arbery’s family to greet Guilty brought by a grand jury in Georgia on Wednesday.
“It’s just been a great day for my family,” Marcus Arbery, Ahmaud’s father, told NPR in an interview with All things Considered after the judgment. “We still have a long war to go.”
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney, says that while the outcome brings justice and peace to the Arbery family, it is not a cause for celebration, but for reflection.
“This case, by all accounts, should have been opened and closed… the violent tracking and arrest of Ahmaud Arbery was captured on video for the world to see. However. , because of the deep cracks, flaws and prejudices in our system, we are left to wonder if we will ever see justice,” Crump said in a statement after the judgment.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Crump told NPR in a joint interview with Marcus, noting that it was just one victory in the criminal justice system that has had mixed results for people of color.
“We don’t want to have the burden of having the video … to give black people wrongfully killed access to the courts, access to justice,” he said, referring to important evidence. was presented in the trials of Arbery and George Floyd.
Father and son Greg McMichael and Travis McMichael, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan – white men chased and shot Arbery, a 25-year-old black man jogging through his Georgia neighborhood. them last year – were all found guilty of murder.
The murder has drawn national attention for what many consider to be another test case for racial justice. While the state trial did not include evidence in support of racial prejudice, that will be the focus of the three men’s federal hate crimes trial set for next year.
“Today’s ruling is a ruling based on the facts. Based on the evidence,” prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said at a news conference minutes after the verdict was announced.
“When you present the truth to people and they can see it, they do the right thing,” she said. “And that’s what this jury did today to seek justice for Ahmaud Arbery.”
The American Civil Liberties Union responded to the ruling, tweets, “The real measure of justice is not in rulings, but in creating a future where people don’t have to live in fear of racist violence. We will continue our long-term efforts to achieve it. get this future.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says “Arbery is a victim of vigilantism that has no place in Georgia,” he said, adding that he hopes continued legal efforts can help people “move toward the path of healing and reconciliation.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has criticized the defense team for what she describes as racist tactics used during the trial.
“These rulings send an important message, but the reality is that we still have work to do,” she said in a statement. “Defense counsel has chosen to establish a tone that views ministers’ attendance at the trial as threatening and degrading a young black man’s racist conduct,” Harris said in a statement. announced after the judgment has been rendered.
Harris’ reference to racist practices alludes to how defense attorney Laura Hogue used Arbery in her final arguments. Hogue described him running through the Georgia neighborhood with “no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.”
As for the defense, Gregory McMichael’s team expressed disappointment as the gallery rushed out of the courtroom. Elder McMichael was found guilty of eight of the nine counts, one less than his son.
Hogue, one of Gregory McMichael’s attorneys, said: “I was overrated, marked with an ‘F’. Frank Hogue, who also represents McMichael, said the attorneys plan to appeal the ruling after sentencing.
