In a stunning and surprisingly swift verdict in the case of the three defendants on trial for the killing of Armaud Arbery, the shooter Travis McMichaels along with his father Geg McMicahels along with co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan have been found guilty of felony murder in the Feb. 3, 2020 incident which claimed the life of an unarmed 24-year-old jogger.
The man who shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery has been found guilty on all nine charges in the jogger’s death.
A jury found Travis McMichael guilty of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. His father Gregory McMichelas was found guilty on multiple counts of felony murder as was co-defendant William “Roddie” who participated in the vigilante style hunting, assault and killing of Arbery in Brinscwick, GA. Bryan videotaped the tragedy while following the McMichael’s.
The three defendants who were charged with 27 felony counts were found guilty on 23 of those charges could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and will face federal hate crime charges in February of 2022.
The jury of 10 White men, one White woman and one Black juror reached the verdict at 1:21 p.m.
Representing the state of Georgia, attorney Linda Dunikoski maintained that this case is about the “assumptions” the defendants made about Arbery. Dunikoski argued that Arbery would still be alive if the defendants did not assume he had broken into a nearby home or that he was there to harm them.
“This case is really about assumptions and driveway decisions,” Dunikoski said, according to CBS News.
“All three of these defendants made assumptions — made assumptions about what was going on that day, and they made their decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down the street.”
Furthermore, Dunikoski affirmed that the three men on trial did not participate in a citizen’s arrest as they claimed. Rather, she argued that the McMichaels and Bryan violently chased Arbery down as he jogged, cornered him and fatally shot him without cause.
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