The three white men who pursued, trapped, and murdered Ahmaud Arbery were convicted of their crimes last Wednesday. “The spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob,” Ben Crump, attorney for Arbery’s father, told reporters. Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan all face life in prison for gunning down the young Black man out for a run. Police and the local district attorney did not pursue the case until a leaked video and weeks of community organizing and pressure eventually forced state officials to investigate. The three murderers face federal hate crimes trials in February.
“He didn’t do nothing but run and dream,” Marcus Arbery Sr. said of his son. (Black Wall Street Times, AP, CBS; Case timeline: New York Times $, Al Jazeera, CBS; Commentary: San Francisco Chronicle, Cat Brooks op-ed, CNN, Issac Bailey op-ed, Washington Post, Kevin B. Blackistone column $, The Guardian, Moustafa Bayoumi op-ed, CNN, Nsenga Burton essay)