辛未運庚子年，吃飽沒事，拿槍上街殺黑人....
命主甲木，火旺帶火庫，不拘於法。
庚子2020犯事..跟自己的父親一起....庚金七殺～ 甲木入墓，腦袋出問題
整起事件是發生在2020年2月23日，當時亞伯里在住家附近慢跑，結果遭到退休員警格雷戈里（Gregory McMichael）與崔維斯（Travis McMichael）這對白人父子檔持槍追捕。之後兩人的鄰居布萊恩（William Bryan Jr）也開車加入追捕行動，同時還拍下崔維斯槍殺亞伯里的瞬間。....
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery (born May 8, 1994), nicknamed "Maud" or "Quez", was a 25-year-old lifelong resident of Brunswick, Georgia. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 2012, where he was a football star.[52][53] As a linebacker, he was known for his speed and agility.[53] Among his teachers and friends, he was known for his sense of humor and big heart.[53][52] He frequently ran for exercise, including regularly in the neighborhood of Satilla Shores.[53][52] He attended South Georgia Technical College during fall 2012 and spring 2013 to train for a career as an electrician.[53][52] He paused his studies to save money by working in his father's car wash and landscaping business,[53] and had plans to re-enroll.
白人父子無故槍殺慢跑非裔男 犯後無悔意遭判終生監禁
[周刊王CTWANT] 美國25歲非裔男子亞伯里（Ahmaud Arbery）在2020年外出慢跑時，遭遇3名白人男子無故射殺，當時事件爆發後就引起極大的關注。而目前法官認為，3名白人男子在犯後毫無悔意，因此於7日判處3人無期徒刑，其中一人甚至不給予任何假釋的機會。
綜合外媒報導指出，整起事件是發生在2020年2月23日，當時亞伯里在住家附近慢跑，結果遭到退休員警格雷戈里（Gregory McMichael）與崔維斯（Travis McMichael）這對白人父子檔持槍追捕。之後兩人的鄰居布萊恩（William Bryan Jr）也開車加入追捕行動，同時還拍下崔維斯槍殺亞伯里的瞬間。
事後三人都遭到警方逮捕，而一開始雷戈里與崔維斯還辯稱，會追捕亞伯里是因為他擅闖民宅，會開槍是亞伯里有激烈反抗的行為，三人試圖將殺人的行為以「自我防衛」來做合法解釋。但是檢方認為，並沒有明確證據指出亞伯里有行竊的跡象，同時也沒有任何證據證實亞伯里在當時有激烈抵抗到需要開槍反擊。
法院陪審團認為，亞伯里遭到槍殺很有可能是因為種族問題。事後陪審團於2021年11月認定3人惡意謀殺、嚴重傷害等27項罪名全數成立。法官也認為，這對父子在現場所表現出來的態度，以及審理階段毫無展現出任何絲毫悔意。
法院也在7日正式裁定，判定雷戈里與崔維斯終身監禁，同時也不得假釋。而開車參與圍捕的布萊恩雖然也是無期徒刑，但是在服刑滿30年後，有機會可以獲得假釋機會。
Murder of Ahmaud Arbery
| Murder of Ahmaud Arbery | |
|---|---|
 Pre-2013 photo of Ahmaud Arbery | |
| Location | Satilla Shores unincorporated Glynn County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 31°07′27″N 81°33′22″WCoordinates: 31°07′27″N 81°33′22″W |
| Date | February 23, 2020 c. 1:15 p.m. |
Attack type | Murder, shooting |
| Victim | Ahmaud Arbery |
| Perpetrators |
|
| Criminal penalty | Travis and Gregory McMichael Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 20 years William Bryan Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years |
| Verdict | Federal trial pending State verdict reached |
| Convictions | Travis McMichael Guilty on all charges Gregory McMichael Not guilty of malice murder Guilty on remaining charges William Bryan Guilty of felony murder (3 counts), aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony (1 count each) |
| Charges | State charges: malice murder, felony murder (4 counts), aggravated assault (2 counts), false imprisonment, criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment[1] District Attorney Jackie Johnson: Violating the oath of a public officer, obstruction of justice Federal charges: Interference with rights (a hate crime) (1 count each), attempted kidnapping (1 count each), using firearm during a crime of violence (1 count each for McMichaels)[2] |
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Marquez Arbery (born May 8, 1994), a 25-year-old Black man, was murdered in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia, United States.[3][4][5] Arbery had been pursued by three White residents – Travis McMichael and his father Gregory, who were armed and in one vehicle, and William "Roddie" Bryan, who was in another vehicle and recorded the pursuit and shooting on his cell phone.[3][4] Ultimately, Arbery was being followed by Bryan’s vehicle while the McMichaels' vehicle had been stopped in front of Arbery.[6][7] After Travis exited his vehicle and wielded a shotgun, Travis and Arbery engaged in a physical confrontation, during which Travis shot Arbery.[3] Police interview transcripts detailed that Gregory initiated the chase after seeing Arbery running past his house,[8] suspecting that Arbery had committed burglary or theft in Satilla Shores,[9][10] but no evidence has emerged to corroborate Gregory's suspicion.[11][12] According to police testimony, Bryan told police that he saw the chase, joined in independently, tried to "corner" Arbery with his vehicle five times, but was not sure if Arbery had done anything wrong.[13][14] Arbery had entered an under-construction house with no doors five times in five months, including once shortly before the shooting. Security camera video from inside the house showed no evidence of theft.[15][16]
The Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) said the Brunswick District Attorney's Office advised them on February 23 to make no arrests,[17] but the Attorney's Office denied that its top officeholders gave such advice.[18] Waycross District Attorney George Barnhill twice advised the GCPD to make no arrests, once on February 24, before he was assigned to the case on February 27,[19][20] and a second time on April 2 while announcing his intention to recuse himself from the case due to connections between his son and Gregory McMichael.[20][21][22] Barnhill requested recusal on April 7, and the case was sent to the Atlantic District Attorney's Office on April 13.[20] At the behest of Gregory McMichael,[23] a local attorney provided a copy of the video of the shooting to local radio station WGIG, who posted it to their website on May 5.[24] The video went viral,[25] having also been posted on YouTube and Twitter.[26][27] Within hours, Atlantic District Attorney Tom Durden said a grand jury would decide whether charges would be brought, and accepted an offer from Governor Brian Kemp to have the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) investigate the case.[26][28]
The GBI arrested the McMichaels on May 7 and Bryan on May 21, charging them with felony murder and other crimes.[29][30][31] Meanwhile, the case was ultimately transferred to the Cobb County District Attorney's Office.[32] Additional evidence was presented by the prosecutor to support the murder charges, including a statement to the GBI by Bryan that Travis said "fucking nigger" as Arbery lay dying.[33][34] On June 24, 2020, a grand jury indicted each of the three men on charges of malice murder, felony murder, and other crimes.[1] The three men later went on trial in November 2021 in the Glynn County Superior Court, where they were convicted on November 24, 2021.[35][36] On the charge of malice murder, the jury only convicted Travis McMichael.[37] For the other charges, the jury convicted all three men of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.[38][39] On January 7, 2022, the McMichaels were sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, with Bryan sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years.[40][41]
The local authorities' handling of the case, whereby the McMichaels were not arrested until 74 days after the murder, after the video went viral, sparked nation-wide criticism and debates on racial profiling in the United States.[42][43] Numerous religious leaders, politicians, athletes, and other celebrities condemned the incident.[44] Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr formally requested the intervention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the case on May 10, 2020, which was granted the following day.[45][46][47] In April 2021, a federal grand jury indicted the three men, charging all with a hate crime and attempted kidnapping, while the McMichaels were also charged with using firearms during a crime of violence.[2] Separately, former Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson was indicted in September 2021 for "showing favor and affection" to Gregory (her former subordinate) during the investigation, and for obstructing law enforcement by directing that Travis not be arrested.[48][49] In the aftermath of the murder, Georgia enacted hate crimes legislation in June 2020,[50] then repealed and replaced its citizen's arrest law in May 2021.[51]
Persons involved
- Ahmaud Marquez Arbery (born May 8, 1994), nicknamed "Maud" or "Quez", was a 25-year-old lifelong resident of Brunswick, Georgia. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 2012, where he was a football star.[52][53] As a linebacker, he was known for his speed and agility.[53] Among his teachers and friends, he was known for his sense of humor and big heart.[53][52] He frequently ran for exercise, including regularly in the neighborhood of Satilla Shores.[53][52] He attended South Georgia Technical College during fall 2012 and spring 2013 to train for a career as an electrician.[53][52] He paused his studies to save money by working in his father's car wash and landscaping business,[53] and had plans to re-enroll.
- Gregory McMichael, (born December 23, 1955), then 64, previously worked as a GCPD officer from 1982 to 1989, and as an investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office from 1995 to his retirement in May 2019.[3][54] In 2018, McMichael had helped an investigation in the DA's office about Arbery's shoplifting charge, which led to a subsequent revocation and extension of Arbery's probation.[52][55][56] It is unknown whether McMichael remembered this when he encountered Arbery on the day of the shooting; there was no mention of McMichael's previous affiliation with Arbery in the Glynn County Police report on that day.[56] The prosecution later said Arbery's charges had nothing to do with his murder.[57]
- Travis McMichael (born January 18, 1986), then 34,[58] Gregory McMichael's son, former U.S. Coast Guard mechanic between 2007 and 2016, with some training in law enforcement.[59]
- William "Roddie" Bryan (born August 19, 1969), then 50, was a neighbor of the McMichaels.[60]
Video of the shooting
A video of the incident[61] was recorded by Bryan using his cellphone from his vehicle as he followed Arbery jogging down the neighborhood road. [7][60][62][63] The video showed Arbery jogging on the left side of the road when he encountered a white pickup truck, a thirteenth generation Ford F-150, that had stopped in the right lane.[62][63] Gregory McMichael is standing in the truck bed, while Travis McMichael initially stands beside the driver's door with a shotgun.[6][63][64][65] Bryan's vehicle comes to a stop behind Arbery and the pickup truck.[6][64]
As Arbery approaches the pickup truck, shouting can be heard.[6] Arbery then crosses from the left side of the road to the right side and runs around the passenger's side of the truck. After passing the truck's front, Arbery turns left.[63][64][66] Meanwhile, Travis McMichael, holding his shotgun, approaches Arbery at the truck's front.[65][67] The camera's view of the confrontation between Arbery and Travis is momentarily blocked.[25]
Several media accounts of the video report that the audio of the first gunshot seems to be heard before Arbery and Travis struggle with each other.[62][66][68] Some media accounts first report a struggle, and then mention the gunshot(s).[64][69] Other media accounts describe that it was "not possible" to see from the video what was happening when the first gunshot was fired,[25] or report that the truck "blocks the view of how the men first engage each other" with regard to when the gunshot is heard.[70]
Travis and Arbery are seen to grapple over the shotgun.[66][71] While struggling, both men disappear off camera view on the left side of the frame, after which the audio of a second gunshot is heard.[63][64] When they reappear, Arbery throws punches and tries to grab the shotgun.[64] A third gunshot is heard being fired by Travis at point-blank range as Arbery appears to throw a right-handed punch at his head.[63][6][64] Arbery recoils, stumbles, and collapses face down in the middle of the road while Travis walks away.[62][64][65] Gregory McMichael, who has taken out a handgun but has not fired, runs towards his son and Arbery.[6][64]
Investigation by Glynn County Police
Prior thefts and trespassing incidents reported
In December 2019 and January 2020, residents of Satilla Shores reported three break-ins or thefts. On December 8, 2019, a Satilla Shores resident reported rifles stolen from the resident's unlocked car. Police recorded a theft on December 28, 2019. On January 1, 2020, Travis McMichael filed a report of a firearm stolen from his unlocked truck.[72][73]
On February 11, 2020, Travis called 9-1-1 to report a slender six-foot-tall (1.83 m) black man with short hair, wearing red shorts and a white shirt, who was trespassing on the site of a house under construction. Travis said, "I've never seen this guy before in the neighborhood." The dispatcher asked whether Travis was OK, and he said, "Yeah, it just startled me. When I turned around and saw him and backed up, he reached into his pocket and ran into the house. So I don't know if he's armed or not. But he looked like he was acting like he was." "We've been having a lot of burglaries and break-ins around here lately", Travis said on the call. He told the dispatcher that he was out in his truck, and that as many as four neighbors were out looking for the man. His father Gregory was one of the people out searching that night, and Gregory and at least one other neighbor were armed.[74] Police responded and searched the house along with a neighbor, but found no one.[74][75] However, surveillance video from that evening showed a man who reportedly looked like Arbery, briefly walking in and out of the house under construction. He did not take anything.[74][76] The under-construction house did not have doors or windows.[15]
No evidence has emerged of Arbery committing burglaries or thefts in Satilla Shores.[11][12]
Security cameras and 9-1-1 calls before the shooting
On February 23, in the minutes before the shooting, a security camera installed on a residence across the street from the house under construction, recorded a man identified by his family as Arbery walking down the road and into the house.[77] A second security camera installed within the house recorded a man, identified as Arbery by his family, looking at the interior of the house.[78] Approximately five minutes later, he left and began jogging down the street.[77][79][80] After the man left the house, the first camera on the residence across the street showed a white pickup heading in the man's direction, followed a few minutes later by two police cars.[77]
Two calls to the Glynn-Brunswick 911 dispatcher were made just before the shooting. In the first, a then-unidentified male caller said another man was in a house that was "under construction". The 9-1-1 dispatcher asked if the man was "breaking into it right now?" The caller replied: "No ... it's all open." After the caller said the man was now "running down the street", the dispatcher said police would respond. The dispatcher asked at 1:08 p.m., "I just need to know what he was doing wrong. Was he just on the premises and not supposed to be?" The caller responded, with some parts garbled, saying: "And he's been caught on camera a bunch at night. It's kind of an ongoing thing." The caller identified the man as a "black guy, white T-shirt".[81] The first caller was later identified in court as neighbor Matthew Albenze.[82]
In the second call, beginning at 1:14 p.m., a male caller said: "I'm out here at Satilla Shores ...There's a black male running down the street." The 9-1-1 dispatcher asked, "Where at Satilla Shores?" The caller replied: "I don't know what street we're on." The caller shouted, "Stop! ... Watch that. Stop, damn it! Stop!" The dispatcher tried to speak to the caller but did not receive a reply for several minutes. The caller later hung up.[81] The second caller was later identified in court as Gregory McMichael.[13]
Responding officer's report
The GCPD reached the scene immediately after the fatal shooting. The responding officer's report relied almost entirely on an interview with Gregory McMichael,[83] who was described as a witness.[84][85]
Gregory said he was in his yard when he saw an unidentified man running by.[85] He said he recognized the man from a prior incident "the other night", when he said he saw the man reach into his pants as if for a weapon. He called to his son Travis and said, "The guy is running down the street; let's go".[84] Gregory brought a .357 Magnum revolver, while Travis brought a shotgun in their pickup truck.[3][84][85] The McMichaels said they pursued the man because he resembled a suspect in a string of local burglaries. But the police said there had been only one recent theft from an unlocked car in the neighborhood.[73]
Travis attempted to cut off the man with his truck. The man turned and began "running back in the direction from which he came".[85] The report states a third person, who was identified as "Roddy [sic]", also tried to cut off the man, but failed.[60][25] Gregory said he saw the unidentified man and yelled: "Stop, stop, we want to talk to you", and that they pulled up to the man, with Travis exiting the truck with the shotgun in hand. Gregory claimed the man "began to violently attack Travis" before two shots were fired.[3][85] The man died at the scene after "bleeding out", the report concluded. Authorities later identified the man as Arbery.[85]
Autopsy
The autopsy report released by the GBI ruled Arbery's death was a homicide and that it was caused by three gunshot wounds he sustained "during a struggle for the shotgun" that fired those shots.[86][87][88] One gunshot wounded the upper left chest, one gunshot wounded the lower middle chest, and one gunshot caused a "deep, gaping" graze wound to the right wrist. There were no alcohol or drugs in Arbery's body, other than a "tiny amount" of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis.[89][90]
Case handling by prosecutors
Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney
The case started under the jurisdiction of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson.[18][91] Because Gregory McMichael had previously worked as an investigator in her office, she recused herself from further involvement in the case.[92] On February 27, 2020, the case was transferred by the Georgia Attorney General's Office to the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney's office. The Waycross Judicial Circuit is south of Brunswick Judicial Circuit.[93]
On March 8, two Glynn County commissioners, citing discussions with Glynn County police, accused Johnson, or her office, of preventing the McMichaels' immediate arrest. Commissioner Allen Booker said: "The police at the scene went to her, saying they were ready to arrest both of them. These were the police at the scene who had done the investigation. She shut them down to protect her friend [Gregory] McMichael." Commissioner Peter Murphy said that officers who responded at the scene had concluded that there was probable cause to make an arrest, but when they contacted Johnson's office, they "were told not to make the arrest."[91]
Johnson's office said that Johnson did not "have any conversation with any GCPD officer about this case" on February 23, and that "no Assistant District Attorney in the office directed any Glynn County police officer not to make an arrest".[18] Johnson's office also blamed the GCPD for being "unable to make a probable cause determination on its own" and argued that it was the local police's responsibility, not the District Attorney's responsibility, to make arrests.[94] It is common for police to consult with the district attorney's office in the aftermath of homicides or other complex cases.[18]
On May 9, the GCPD said that on February 23 the Brunswick District Attorney's Office "became involved in the investigation ... The McMichaels were deemed not to be flight risks and officers were advised by the [Brunswick District Attorney's Office] that no arrests were necessary at the time."[18]
Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney
The GCPD said that on February 24, Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill told them that the murder of Arbery "was justifiable homicide."[18][95][96] According to a memorandum written by Barnhill to the GCPD on April 2, Barnhill gave the GCPD "an initial opinion the day after the shooting" on February 24.[19][20] In the April 2 memorandum, Barnhill wrote: "The autopsy supports the initial opinion we gave you on February 24, at the briefing room in the Glynn County Police Department after reviewing the evidence you had at that time. We do not see grounds for an arrest of any of the three parties."[46] But, according to the Office of the Georgia Attorney General on May 10, Barnhill had not yet been appointed to handle Arbery's case on February 24, and he had not put in a request to handle the case.[20][97]
The Georgia Attorney General's Office on May 10 identified the following events as having happened on February 27: the Georgia Attorney General's Office received the request from Johnson's office to transfer Arbery's case to another prosecutor. On the same day, the Georgia Attorney General's Office appointed Barnhill as the presiding prosecutor. Neither Johnson nor Barnhill informed the Georgia Attorney General's Office that Barnhill had already actively participated in the case by reviewing evidence and giving his opinion on whether arrests should occur.[20][97]
On April 1, Arbery's autopsy report was given to Barnhill.[98] On April 2, Barnhill wrote a memorandum to Glynn County police, recommending that no arrests be made.[20][21] Barnhill wrote that the McMichaels were within their rights to chase "a burglary suspect, with solid firsthand probable cause";[3][98] that "Arbery initiated the fight"; and that Travis McMichael "was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself" when "Arbery grabbed the shotgun".[98][99]
Barnhill cited Georgia's citizen arrest law, dating to the Civil War era, as justifying the murder of Arbery (the Georgia law says that either a crime must be committed within the citizen's "immediate knowledge", or there must be "reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion" for a felony crime).[100] Barnhill alleged that videos of Arbery entering the home under construction on the day of the shooting showed Arbery "burglarizing a home immediately preceding the chase and confrontation."[83]
The attorneys representing the Arbery family responded: "This video is consistent with the evidence already known to us. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog. He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property. He remained for a brief period of time and was not instructed by anyone to leave but rather left on his own accord to continue his jog. Ahmaud's actions at this empty home under construction were in no way a felony under Georgia law. This video confirms Mr. Arbery's murder was not justified, meaning the actions of the men who pursued him and ambushed him were unjustified."[79]
The owner of the unfinished home, who was 90 miles (140 kilometers) away at the time of the shooting, later said, "I've never had a police report [on my property], or anything stolen from my property, or any kind of robbery."[18] Barnhill wrote that "Arbery's mental health and prior convictions help explain his apparent aggressive nature and his possible thought pattern to attack an armed man."[3][101] Lastly, Barnhill informed the Glynn County police that he was going to recuse from the case due to connections between his son and Gregory McMichael.[22]
On April 7, Barnhill wrote to Georgia's Attorney General, Christopher M. Carr, saying Arbery's "family are not strangers to the local criminal justice system", noting that Arbery's brother and cousins had encounters with the law.[56] Barnhill told Carr that there was "video of Arbery burglarizing a home immediately preceding the chase and confrontation".[3]
The Georgia Attorney General's Office on May 10 said the following events happened on April 7: it received a request from Barnhill's office to transfer Arbery's case to another prosecutor,[20][97] and Barnhill revealed that he had learned "about 3–4 weeks ago" that Arbery had previously been prosecuted by his son, a prosecutor for the Brunswick Circuit District Attorney's Office, in an earlier case. He also said that one of the defendants had served as an investigator on the same prosecution (this is a reference to Gregory McMichael, who was employed by the Brunswick D.A.'s Office).[20][97][56] The request did not explain why Barnhill had delayed in recusing his office from the case, did not mention that Barnhill had advised Glynn County police on April 2 to make no arrests, and omitted Barnhill's involvement on February 24, instead recounting only his involvement "upon taking the case".[20][97]
On April 13, after Barnhill's recusal, the Georgia Attorney General's Office appointed Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden to take over the handling of the case.[102] The Atlantic Judicial Circuit is the immediately adjacent circuit to the north of Brunswick Judicial Circuit.[93]
Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney
Video of the shooting released
A video of the shooting was uploaded on May 5 on the website of local radio station, WGIG; it was received from Gregory McMichael.[23] After two hours, WGIG removed the video for being too graphic.[24][55]
The video was uploaded to YouTube that day.[26] The Arbery family's attorney posted a 28-second segment of the video on Twitter.[27] The video of the shooting went viral.[25] Glynn County police requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation look into how the video was publicized.[26] The Guardian published an edited version of the video on May 6.[103] TMZ published a longer version of the video on May 5.[61]
On May 7, Alan David Tucker, a local criminal defense attorney, said that he had sent the cell phone video to WGIG,[104][105] and that it had been recorded by William "Roddie" Bryan, who was in the second truck following Arbery.[60] WGIG confirmed that Tucker had provided the video to the radio station.[106] Tucker had informally consulted with the suspects in the case,[106] but said he had not been retained to represent anyone involved.[106][104] Tucker said that he released the video to provide "absolute transparency" due to "erroneous accusations and assumptions",[104] and that "my purpose was not to exonerate them or convict them."[106]
Within hours of the video becoming public, Tom Durden, the district attorney for Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit, said that he would present the case to "the next available grand jury in Glynn County" to decide if charges should be filed. The convening of grand juries had been postponed until after June 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[58][103] Durden accepted Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's offer to bring in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate.[26][28]
Charges filed
The GBI found probable cause to charge Gregory and Travis McMichael within 36 hours of taking over jurisdiction of the case, and, on May 7, arrested and charged them with felony murder.[a][108][109][110] The McMichaels were booked into the Glynn County Jail.[108] At an appearance before a judge the following day, the McMichaels were both denied bond.[111]
Given the "size and magnitude" of the investigation, Durden requested that the case be reassigned to another prosecutor with a larger staff.[112] Pursuant to Durden's request, the Georgia Attorney General's office reassigned the case on May 11 to the Cobb County District Attorney's Office, led by Joyette M. Holmes.[89][112][32] She was the fourth D.A. to take on the case.[32] Arbery's family welcomed the transfer of the case from a southeast Georgia district attorney to one in the metro Atlanta area 300 miles (480 km) away.[32][112][89]
Cobb Judicial Circuit District Attorney
The Cobb County District Attorney's Office, led by Joyette M. Holmes, brought charges against the defendants. On May 21, 2020, William "Roddie" Bryan was charged with felony murder and attempt to commit false imprisonment.[31][113] According to the arrest warrant, Bryan tried "to confine and detain" Arbery without legal authority by "utilizing his vehicle on multiple occasions" before Arbery was shot.[7] The GBI said their investigators found "a number of pieces of video" that linked Bryan to the case.[114] Bryan was alleged to have attempted to block Arbery, which was unsuccessful, and struck Arbery with his pickup truck while chasing him.[31][115] Arbery's palm print was found on the rear door of Bryan's truck, cotton fibers near the truck bed were attributed to contact with Mr. Arbery, and a dent was found below the location of the cotton fibers.[115]
At the June 4, 2020 preliminary hearing, a Glynn County Magistrate Court judge ruled that there was probable cause for the murder charges against all three men.[116][117] The prosecution presented additional evidence to the court to support the murder charges, including hours of testimony from the lead GBI investigator.[117] At the hearing, the prosecutor said that the three men "chased, hunted down and ultimately executed" Arbery.[33] The investigator testified that none of the three had called 9-1-1 prior to the chase; he said:
I don't believe it was self-defense by Mr. McMichael. I believe it was self-defense by Mr. Arbery. I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran until he couldn't run anymore. And it was: turn his back to a man with a shotgun, or fight with his bare hands against a man with a shotgun, and he chose to fight.[117]
The prosecution also introduced a statement to the GBI by William Bryan that Travis McMichael used a racist slur, "fucking nigger", while standing over Arbery's body,[33][34] and testimony that Travis McMichael had previously used the same slur on previous occasions in social media postings and in text messages.[116][117] During the Glynn County trial, the allegation of Travis stating "fucking nigger" was not brought forth to the jury since the only witness, William Bryan, chose not to testify during the trial; meanwhile, by the time legal arguments had concluded, the judge did not make a ruling on whether the social media posts and text messages could be used, so they were not introduced either.[118][119]
The alleged use of these racist slurs could affect a federal hate crime trial in 2022.[33] Although there may be some overlap in witnesses between the two cases, the federal trial is independent of the state trial and not affected by the state trial's outcome.[119][120] Other evidence eventually not shown in the state trial by prosecutors, which can be considered in the federal trial, includes imagery of the Confederate flag on the McMichaels' truck.[115][119]
On June 24, 2020, a Glynn County grand jury indictment was released against all three defendants, each on nine counts: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.[1]
At a hearing on July 2020, the three defendants waived arraignment and pleaded not guilty. During the hearing the lead prosecutor disclosed that Arbery's palm print had been found on the side of Bryan's truck and texts taken from Bryan's cellphone were "replete with racist remarks." At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge denied bond to Bryan.[121]
In August 2020, attorneys for the McMichaels and Bryan filed motions seeking release on bond and dismissal of the charges.[122][123][124][125] In November 2020, the court denied the McMichaels' request for bond.[126] In January 2021, the court denied Bryan's second request for bond.[127]
Trial
The trial took place in the Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick.[35] After every Brunswick Judicial Circuit judge recused themselves from the case, Chatham County Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley became the trial judge.[128]
Pretrial rulings
Judge Walmsley made the following pre-trial rulings in 2021:
- He denied a prosecution motion to bar testimony that the neighborhood was "on edge" at the time of the murder.[129]
- He ruled that the defense could not introduce evidence of Arbery's prior "bad acts", noting that the McMichaels were unaware of Arbery's past at the time of the murder. He justified his ruling by stating that the "character of the victim is neither relevant nor admissible in a murder trial", and that such evidence might also mislead the jury into thinking that Arbery's murder was "somehow justified" on potential "future dangerousness".[130]
- He ruled that the defense could not introduce Arbery's mental health records as evidence, citing Arbery's medical privacy. Walmsley also stated that a nurse's 2018 diagnosis of Arbery having mental illness was "highly questionable" and may unfairly prejudice the jury.[131]
- He ruled that the prosecution could let the jury listen to recorded phone calls made by the jailed McMichaels, and issued a limited gag order on trial lawyers not to comment on inadmissible evidence, including evidence they "should reasonably know" would be ruled inadmissible at trial.[132]
- He excluded evidence of "minute" amounts of THC detected in Arbery's body after his autopsy, excluded testimony of two use of force experts which the defense wanted to use regarding Travis McMichael's Coast Guard training, and excluded the introduction of graphic footage of a dying Arbery.[133]
- He excluded evidence that Arbery was on probation when he was murdered, and allowed the introduction into evidence of photos and videos of a Confederate flag symbol on the truck that Travis McMichael used to pursue Arbery.[134]
Jury selection
The trial of the McMichaels and Bryan in the Superior Court before Judge Walmsley began October 18, 2021, with jury selection. The jury selection process was lengthy and proceeded slowly, with the 600 potential jurors (members of the venire) questioned on what they had heard about the case and whether they had formed a belief about the guilt or innocence of the defendant, and many prospective jurors were dismissed.[135][136][137] Judge Walmsley denied a defense motion to limit demonstrations near the courthouse, citing the demonstrators' First Amendment rights; the judge, however, expressed concern about social media posts that were "identifying jurors" or attempting "to influence the public".[138]
On November 3, 2021, jury selection was completed. Twelve jurors and four alternates were selected. Of the 16 members, one was a black man, three were white men, and 12 were white women. The defense struck 11 of 12 prospective black jurors, the defense leaving the one black man from the qualified panel, while the prosecution used all 12 of its allotted strikes on white potential jurors. Judge Walmsley rejected a prosecution motion alleging that the defense had used its strikes in a racially discriminatory way.[139] Only one black person ended up serving on the jury, despite Glynn County's nearly 27% black population.[36][37]
Opening statements
Opening statements for the state and the McMichaels were made on November 5, 2021.[140] Opening statements for William "Roddie" Bryan were delivered on November 18, 2021, after the prosecution rested its case.[141]
Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said the murder of Arbery arose from the defendants' "assumptions and driveway decisions ... Not on facts, not on evidence".[140] She stated that the defendants did not have "immediate knowledge" of Arbery committing a crime that day, referencing Gregory McMichael's police statement where he said he did not know if Arbery had committed a break-in.[142] She also highlighted that twelve days before the murder, Glynn County police officer Robert Rash had relayed to the McMichaels a statement from the under-construction house's owner that Arbery "has never stolen or taken anything from his property".[140] Dunikoski described that Arbery was "under attack" by the defendants during the chase on the day of his murder, alleging that William "Roddie" Bryan had attempted to hit Arbery with his truck four times, that Gregory McMichael told Arbery "Stop or I'll blow your fucking head off", that Gregory later described Arbery as "trapped like a rat" as a result of the chase, and that Travis McMichael had "stepped around that open door and moved toward" Arbery during the final confrontation.[142][143]
Bob Rubin, the lawyer for Travis McMichael, stated that although there was "no crime committed" in the presence of the McMichaels, "there was probable cause to believe a felony had been committed" by Arbery and that he "was attempting to escape".[140] Rubin described the Satilla Shores neighbourhood as "on edge" due to property crimes, arguing that Travis had a "duty and responsibility to protect himself and his neighborhood".[142][143] Rubin stated that Travis killed Arbery "in self-defense", because if Arbery took Travis' gun, either Travis or Gregory would be dead.[140]
Frank Hogue, the lawyer for Gregory McMichael, stated that Gregory correctly recognized Arbery from prior videos of Arbery entering the under-construction house, and that "Greg had sound reasons to believe theft had occurred – burglary".[140]
Kevin Gough, the lawyer for William "Roddie" Bryan, stated that Bryan "had no intent to strike or injure" Arbery, while noting that Bryan had not taken his rifle along for the chase. Gough argued that there was "scant evidence" that Bryan attempted to "conceal or minimize his involvement" in the incident, because Bryan did not dispose of the cellphone video of the chase and shooting; Bryan instead passed the video to the police.[141][144]
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