It’s a major win for the #BlackLivesMatter protest as all three men, Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. have been found guilty by a jury yesterday Wednesday, November 24.
The trio charged with malice and felony murder in Arbery’s death which sparked national outrage after a video of his shooting in 2020 went viral.
Despite a majorly white jury, (11 whites and 1 black) prosecutors were confident the right decision will be reached after hearing the arguments:
“I was hopeful based on the evidence that we presented in the case that we put forth that the jury would see the truth of what actually took place and bring justice for the Arbery family,” Cobb County senior assistant district attorney Linda Dunikoski said. “After we picked the jury, we looked at them and realized that we had very, very smart, very intelligent, honest jurors who were going to do their job which is to seek the truth. And so, we felt that putting up our case, it doesn’t matter whether they were black or white, that putting up our case that this jury would hear the truth, they would see the evidence and that they would do the right thing and come back with the correct verdict which we felt they did today.”
Theawanza Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery’s aunt, said Wednesday that she was pleased that the three men convicted of murdering her nephew may serve “life-without-parole.”
“They’ll get the same treatment that we have, knowing that Ahmaud will never come home again, so they shouldn’t be able to go home either,” she said.
Travis McMichael, who shot and killed Arbery, his father, Gregory McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. were found guilty, CNN reports.
The attorney for William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. said he plans to appeal after his client was convicted of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
“Anybody in that position would be disappointed, would be hurt, would be shocked,” said Kevin Gough, Bryan’s defense attorney, after he was convicted of murder and other charges in the death of Arbery.
“Here he is, he does everything he’s supposed to do, he’s fully cooperating, he’s done everything that he can and now he’s looking at spending the rest of his life in prison,” the attorney continued as he spoke to members of the media Wednesday afternoon.
Ahmaud Arbery 25, was shot dead shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Satilla Shores, a suburban neighborhood near Brunswick
