Judgement Day: life without parole for Ahmaud Arbery killers

I got excited chills when I heard—while listening to the “Karen Hunter Show” on Urban View--that Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley had handed down sentences for the killers of 26-year-old Ahmaud Arbery: Travis McMichael, 66, life without parole plus 20 years; Greg McMichael, 35, life without parole plus 20 years; William “Roddie” Bryan, 56, life plus 10 years, with the possibility of parole.

I quickly phoned several family members to share the news; most, like me, were elated.

I had followed the trial on Court TV (as I had done with the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd). I watched as Kevin Gough, defense attorney for Bryan objected to the presence in the courtroom of Reverend Jesse Jackson, and mistakenly announced that “Martin Luther King, Jr. has graced us with his presence this afternoon” rather than Martin Luther King III, a human rights advocate. Gough argued that the presence of high-profile black leaders would adversely influence the jury.

Another insulting episode occurred when Wanda Cooper-Jones, defense counsel for Greg McMichaels, remarked that “turning Ahmaud into a victim for the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud to Satilla Shores. He had khaki shorts, with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.”

I was not surprised by the audacity of Cooper-Jones. It is not uncommon for defense attorneys to sully the reputation and motives of black victims of police or “Stand Your Ground” shootings by alluding to a victim’s drug or criminal history, mental illness, or “suspicious” actions.

 The verdicts in the McMichaels’ and Bryan trial follows in the wake of the 2019 murder conviction of former police officer Amber Guyger for fatally shooting Botham Jean, 26, in his Dallas home (because she mistakenly believed that he was an intruder in her apartment), the 22 ½ years sentence handed down for ex-police officer Chauvin, and the first- and second-degree manslaughter conviction of police officer Kim Potter for the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man.

Could it be that juries, even with all-white jurors, are now scrutinizing the “self-defense” claims of self-styled (white) vigilantes, trigger-happy (white) police officers, or armed (white) homeowners in the deaths of often-unarmed citizens?

Certainly, it is a trend in the right direction in achieving justice for black men and women killed without just cause.

Sadly, there are other battles to fight—voter suppression laws, racial disparities in criminal justice from arrest to sentencing, and the banning by nine states of “critical race theory” (taught in law schools and advanced graduate programs) because school boards and state legislatures allege that it fosters antipathy towards whites.

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