Posted on 11/09/2021 8:38:47 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The trial for the men accused of murdering 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in a Georgia suburb began on Friday with lawyers from the prosecution and defense giving their opening statements. Monday marked the start of the full first week of testimony in the trial of Gregory and Travis McMichael, along with their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.
Upon taking the stand, Ricky Minshew, the first officer to arrive on the scene after the shooting, stated that he spoke with Bryan, who told the officer that he “blocked,” “cornered,” and “cut off” Arbery as he fled from the armed men. “Should I have been chasing him? I don’t know,” Bryan said according to a transcript of Minshaw’s bodycam, which was read aloud in court. It was later revealed that he had tried to hit Arbery four times with his truck during the chase.
Minshew told the court that upon arriving on the scene, he saw two men pacing with Arbery’s body on the ground. He noted that “[Arbery] appeared to be deceased” and that he heard a “death rattle” coming from the young man. He did not attempt lifesaving measures because he “did not have the adequate medical training,” and his car did not contain any medical supplies.
When asked by prosecutor Larissa Ollivierre how Arbery appeared, the officer told her that he looked “unresponsive to his surroundings, he appeared to be deceased.” He pointed out that the amount of blood was “exceeding the perimeter of his body.”
USA Today reported that jurors were also shown several photos taken of the crime scene. The author wrote:
Prosecutors showed jurors the photos: The body covered by a bloodstained sheet lying in the street with a white truck in the background, a shotgun lying in the grass, bloodstains and shotgun shells on the driveway.
Prosecutors then showed jurors graphic close-ups of Arbery’s wounds. Several jurors squirmed in their seats as the first few photos were shown. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, exhaled quietly.
Jurors were also shown photos that Ramos took of a bullet that went through the window of a neighbor’s house and was lodged in the living room wall.
According to the bodycam footage, Bryan also noted that near the end of the chase, Arbery appeared to be tired from running. “When I rounded the corner out there, it was almost like the black guy was tired of running,” he said. He also told Minshew that he never heard Arbery say anything, but recalled hearing one of the McMichaels yell at Arbery, “What’d you steal? What’d you do?”
The Associated Press reported that Greg McMichael told police on the scene that he had shouted a warning at Arbery while they were chasing him. “I said, ‘stop,’ you know, ‘I’ll blow your f*cking head off,’” he said. “I was trying to convey to this guy we’re not playing, you know?”
Minshew told the prosecutor that neither Greg nor Travis McMichael told Arbery that he was under arrest.
In the leadup to the trial, there was a controversy over the racial makeup of the jury, which includes 11 white people and only one black person. Some indicated this could indicate a level of bias against Arbery and does not reflect the racial makeup of the community. USA Today noted:
More than 26% of residents in Glynn County are Black, and more than 55% of residents in Brunswick are Black, according to Census Bureau data.
During their opening statements, the defense lawyers attempted to portray the three men as law-abiding citizens who were attempting to stop a crime in progress. The New York Times reported:
A lawyer for one defendant, Travis McMichael — the man who, at the end of the chase, fatally shot Mr. Arbery at close range with a pump-action shotgun — also argued that his client had acted in self-defense. The lawyer, Robert G. Rubin, said that because Mr. Arbery confronted and fought with Mr. McMichael at the end of the chase, Mr. McMichael had “no choice” but to fire on Mr. Arbery, “because if this guy gets his gun, he’s dead, or his dad’s dead.”
Mr. Rubin portrayed Mr. McMichael as a selfless helper, saying he had felt a “duty” to protect his neighborhood, which had suffered a series of property crimes before the afternoon of Feb. 23, 2020, when the killing occurred.
Rubin argued that the McMichaels had “probable cause” to attempt a citizen’s arrest under Georgia law because he previously saw and confronted Arbery after he was seen walking around at a construction site in the neighborhood two weeks prior to the shooting.
Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor, contended that the three men made “driveaway decisions” when they decided to chase Arbery through the neighborhood. She argued the men “assumed the worst” about Arbery and were not justified in chasing him down because they possessed no knowledge that he had just committed a crime. “All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions,” she said. “And they made decisions in their driveways based on those assumptions that took a young man’s life.”
Arbery had been seen on camera footage in the home that was under construction. He is seen walking in and then running out. He did not take anything from the site. Law enforcement never tied Arbery to any of the burglaries and thefts that had occurred in the area.
None of the three defendants were arrested shortly after the shooting. It was later discovered that former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson intervened to ensure that officers did not take the men into custody. The elder McMichael had worked for her office as an investigator in the past. She is now under indictment in relation to this matter.
This week will see more testimony from people who were involved in the case. It is expected that the defense will attempt to paint Arbery as a violent criminal against whom Travis McMichael was forced to defend himself. The prosecution is highlighting the events that led up to the fatal encounter, arguing that had the men not acted in the way they did, Arbery would still be alive. At this point, there is no telling how the jury is responding to the testimony, but it is evident that the defense has an uphill battle in this particular case.
THIS is where CRT leads.
I will be interested to see how this turns out. To me it looks like they screwed up.
[[Arbery had been seen on camera footage in the home that was under construction. He is seen walking in and then running out. He did not take anything from the site.]]
That’s funny, because video showed him go into the construction site with sneaker, then leave with boots on- Same camera shows him move out of camera range with sneakers on, then he reemerges with boots on if i recall correctly- supposedly he also dropped a hammer when he took off running after he spotted a neighbor filming him- i believe the neighbor yelled out to him that he was filming?
FFS - a guy can feel invincible and entitled if he gets away with committing crimes for long enough. There are no winners here. But there are defnitely a bunch of losers.
BTW - what does the % of blacks (is that the correct term these days?) have to do with a jury of P E E R S?
A jury of peers would arguably be all white then wouldn’t it?
The issue of the race of juries is only applicable when the prosecution uses peremptory challenges to excuse prospective jurors based solely on race. This principle comes from the US Supreme Court case of Batson v. Kentucky. It does not apply defendants using peremptory challenges to exclude folks due to race. What the media wants is a mostly black jury because they will convict regardless of the race. But with that said, these defendants were idiots to chase and engage this guy. He was leaving. I am aware of no evidence that he tried to engage these guys until they engaged him. One cannot claim self defense when one instigates the encounter that then results in an altercation which necessitates one to “defend” themself.
I’m wondering what the jury pool qualifications are. Driver’s license? Voter registration? Besides the usual non -felonious past.
There have been so many falsified news reports about other incidents (Michael Brown being chief among them) it is natural to be completely skeptical of any these stories of alleged wrongdoing...but this case looks legit like they acted inappropriately and that this prosecution is justified.
Sad it had to get to court. My first reaction is to shoot when I see a black person slowly walk into my garage which happens regularly. They just seem clueless about private property. Who know what they are looking for? It is always a shock. I call the police and, thankfully, they show up quickly and take it seriously.
Which is not to say that Arbery wasn’t a thief. Seems like some over-zealous community policing.
These guys are too stupid to live.
It’s all on video too.
Most of the Black guy's charge is on film, too, as I recall.
Only takes one vote to hang the jury.
Maybe the vigilant neighbors will catch a break, except for going bankrupt with attorney fees.
No matter where this thread wanders, it will eventually end here. Right on.
A Negroid shuffling into your garage is just looking for his reparations. Your forefathers enslaved his ancestors, don't you know.
#6: You are incorrect. Batson applies to both parties, and a prosecutor can legally make a Batson motion because a defense attorney can illegally exclude a juror based on race.
So Arberry wasn’t caught wearing work boots he just lifted from the site? I thought the construction site video showed him in old sneakers, and the scene of the homicide showed him wearing work boots. Is that not correct? I mean, they are claiming he didn’t steal anything.
Sorry, but I’m not shooting anyone with a shotgun over a pair of boots and a hammer. 9 mil to the buttocks possibly…
Sorry, but that isn’t why he shot the fella. He shot,the fel.a because the fel.a was attacking him Nd trying to get the gun away from him. The fella was stupid for attacking an armed man. These folks chose to confront him because he HAD PREVIOUSLY BROKen into construction sites in the area as well. This wasn’t the first time. The perp also had a criminal record. He brought a loaded gun to school apparently that he wasn’t even a student of if I recall right, and accidently dropped it, and fled. He was later arrested for it.
But the main point was that the dude was trying to get the gun away and very likely use it on the gun owner. The dude grabbed and pulled the barrel of the gu. Straight at his own guts in an attempt to,take it from the owner. Here again, he was trying to steal something that wasn’t his to take
Sorry, they followed him.They should be found guilty.
They did nothing wrong-
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