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First, the reason someone was arrested is because a man is dead and the only available video doesn’t show the crucial first encounter where we could actually judge who was the aggressor.

Stop. We very much know who is the aggressor. We can see that violent bastard running at the man. The man is holding the shotgun in the "low ready" position, and has no intention of shooting Arbery.

That changes when Arbery comes around the truck at him, and attempts to grab the gun while punching McMichaels in the head.

What we DO know is that Arbery did not confront the McMichaels and in fact did pretty much everything humanly possible to exit the situation.

Again, stop. Your claim is contrary to the observable facts. Arbery could have stopped. He could have sat down. He could have ran back the way he came. He could have ran into the back yards of the houses. He could have done anything except run at the guy with the shotgun.

That one thing he should not have done, is exactly what he did in fact do.

If Travis McMichael approached Arbery at the front of the truck pointing his shotgun and/or threatening Arbery, then Arbery had a right to self defense and he died trying to defend his life from a man he believed was about to kill him.

If this theory were correct, Travis McMichael would have blown Arbery in two on the first shot. The very fact that Arbery was shot in the hand indicates Arbery was at that time reaching for the gun.

There is no defense against a man with a shotgun. If he means for you to be dead, you are dead. You can't "defend" your life if you are up against a shotgun. You can only die.

The next time we see either of them, there’s already a fight underway. Since we can’t see what took place right before the fight began, you’re just guessing what happened at the front of the truck just as much as anyone else.

No i'm not "guessing." I am pointing out the obvious fact that a shotgun is instantly lethal if aimed at someone's center of mass. This is where someone aims if they are pointing it at him.

Clearly Travis was not pointing it at him, or he would have killed him with the first shot. Instead we know he was shot in the hand, which is consistent with him reaching for the gun. To think that Travis "aimed" it at Arbery, is contradicted by the fact that he was hit in the hand and so this tells us that the gun was clearly not "aimed."

And if you’re comfortable letting potential killers walk free

Because they generally make a point to kill people? Seriously? They were just living their lives in their neighborhood when this guy comes into their life and f***s with them. Travis McMichael killed Arbery because he had no other choice. It was kill or be killed. I very much doubt he is a threat to anyone else.

then the US criminal justice system probably isn’t your cup of tea.

Ever hear of the "innocence project"? It's a liberal organization, but they have done good work in getting convicted criminals released by proving they did not actually commit the crime. There have been so many people freed from DNA testing that it is a testament to how often and how badly the "US criminal justice system" fails.

I've also seen it up close and personal a few times myself, and had knowledge about the cases which the courts would not let the jury hear. And you know what?

They got it wrong. Ever. Single. Time.

Courts are a crap shoot. If they do come up with a correct verdict, it's a roll of the dice.

So no, I don't have a lot of confidence in the system. It's a Rube Goldberg device, and it functions like one too.