A jury found three white Georgia men guilty Wednesday of an array of charges in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery early last year – a verdict that carries the minimum penalty of life in prison.
Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan each faced a total of nine counts: one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
The jury found Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery, guilty on all charges. Gregory McMichael was found guilty on all charges except malice murder. Bryan was convicted on six of the nine counts, including three counts of felony murder.
Defense attorneys argued that the men are not guilty of all the charges because they were trying to make a citizen's arrest and that Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense. But prosecutors argued the three men chased and killed Arbery because they saw a Black man running through their small coastal neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.
Though prosecutors did not explicitly argue that racism motivated the killing, federal authorities have charged them with hate crimes, alleging they pursued Arbery in pickup trucks and killed him because he was Black. That case is scheduled to go to trial in February.
The verdict: Jury finds 3 white men guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery
Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan each faced a total of nine counts: one count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
The jury found Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery, guilty on all charges. Gregory McMichael was found guilty on all charges except malice murder. Bryan was convicted on six of the nine counts, including three counts of felony murder.
Defense attorneys argued that the men are not guilty of all the charges because they were trying to make a citizen's arrest and that Travis McMichael shot Arbery in self-defense. But prosecutors argued the three men chased and killed Arbery because they saw a Black man running through their small coastal neighborhood on Feb. 23, 2020.
Though prosecutors did not explicitly argue that racism motivated the killing, federal authorities have charged them with hate crimes, alleging they pursued Arbery in pickup trucks and killed him because he was Black. That case is scheduled to go to trial in February.
The verdict: Jury finds 3 white men guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery
