“Eventually, the evidence in this case will prove that if Ahmad Arbery had been white, he would have gone for a run, checked out the house under construction, and returned home in time for Sunday dinner,” said Bobby Bernstein. the Justice Department lawyer told the jury. “Instead, he went for a run and ended up saving his life by running. Instead, he bled out, alone and scared, in the middle of the street.”
Gregory McMichael’s lawyer, A.J. Balbo, told the jury that Mr. McMichael was not tracking a black man that day, but was specifically stalking Mr. Arbery, after a police officer showed security camera images of Mr. Arbery entering a nearby house under construction.
Mr Arbery entered the house numerous times in the weeks leading up to the shooting, including minutes before the start of the chase, although there is no evidence that he stole or vandalized property inside. Twelve days before the shooting, Travis McMichael also saw Mr. Arbery outside the house and called 911, claiming to have seen Mr. Arbery reach for his belt. reaches for the gun.
Travis McMichael’s lawyer, Amy Lee Copeland, noted that her client was shocked rather than “delighted” after the shooting, which occurred after Mr. Arbery, pinned down by two trucks, collided with a younger Mr. McMichael, who at that moment came out of his truck with a shotgun in hand.
Mr. Theodokion noted that his client, Mr. Brian, knew nothing of Mr. Arbery’s history with the McMichaels or his home visits when he saw Mr. Arbery run past his home with the McMichaels chasing him. . Mr. Bryan joined the prosecution, suggesting that Mr. Arbery had done something wrong enough to justify the prosecution, Mr. Balbo said.
Mr. Arbery’s death was greeted with disgust by both conservative and liberal lawmakers in Georgia. This prompted state legislators to significantly loosen the citizens’ arrest law, which was cited by one local prosecutor shortly after the shooting, arguing that the three men should not be arrested. It also prompted them to pass the state’s hate crimes law.
The legislature also passed a resolution this month declaring Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the assassination, “Ahmad Arbery Day.”