GUILTY GA - Ahmaud Arbery, 25, jogger, fatally shot by former LEO and son, Brunswick, Feb 2020 *Arrests* #6

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I think about the terror Mr.Arbery must have felt as he was no doubt trying to think of how he could escape--- but those three were hell bent on ensuring
that Mr. Arbery would not escape- they chased him down, hunted him down and shot him in cold blood---and they had no remorse (maybe Bryan had a tinge of remorse but the McMichaels had no remorse and still don't). Once in while there is justice in our messed up system and today justice was served. This judge made sure it was served---the McMichaels will leave prison in a pine box. As far as Mr. Bryan goes, I could have gone a long with 15 years with the chance for parole. I have a feeling that Mr. Bryan is, shall we say, a little slow of mind, and thus he was easy to manipulate into following a long.
 
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Other than defense attys doing what defense attys do (though Gough mysteriously was least objectionable), I found every part of today's sentencing really moving, and immensely satisfying.

Judges don't get any better, imo. He deliberately chose to restore AA's full humanity- a young man with dreams going for a run; insisted everyone in the courtroom & beyond try to understand the horror of what AA endured before he was killed; appealed to our better angels; told AA's mother as clearly as I've ever heard a judge do that he agreed with her about how to describe the crime: all 3 tried to scare & intimidate AA, and when they couldn't, they killed him.

I've been here from the very first, and finally, with righteous sentences imposed, for the first time it feels possible to feel justice was done, and to say rest in peace to Ahmaud Arbery.
 
I was moved by the judge's heartfelt words.

I felt the sentences were very appropriate.

Nothing will bring back Mr Arbery, but I hope his loved ones find some peace.

Ready for the federal hate crime trial. Although, IANAL, but they should just plead and be done with it. There is no mystery, imo, about this being a hate crime and it will be ridiculously simple to prove, all in their own words and actions.
 
Hope4More said:
Other than defense attys doing what defense attys do (though Gough mysteriously was least objectionable), I found every part of today's sentencing really moving, and immensely satisfying.

Judges don't get any better, imo. He deliberately chose to restore AA's full humanity- a young man with dreams going for a run; insisted everyone in the courtroom & beyond try to understand the horror of what AA endured before he was killed; appealed to our better angels; told AA's mother as clearly as I've ever heard a judge do that he agreed with her about how to describe the crime: all 3 tried to scare & intimidate AA, and when they couldn't, they killed him.

I've been here from the very first, and finally, with righteous sentences imposed, for the first time it feels possible to feel justice was done, and to say rest in peace to Ahmaud Arbery.
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Very beautifully worded Hope4More. The world could use a lot more of this humanity IMO.
 
MrsWatson said:
There is no mystery, imo, about this being a hate crime and it will be ridiculously simple to prove, all in their own words and actions.
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Though I believe the race of the victim was very deciding factor, actually proving a hate crime can be very difficult as it often involves proving a defendant's state of mind. My guess is that proving a defendants state of mind is reliant on their own statements and / or past actions.

Not all of the defendants are linked to racist social media posts and testimony by one defendant that another defendant used a racial slur upon murdering the victim could be seen a self serving and unreliable.

For comparison, hate crime charges could not be brought in two cases where there were direct implications of hate bias in my city:

Probable Hate Crime- Gang member chases and kills a tow truck driver upon being told he is black. Black residents of the neighborhood reported intimidation. Gang members would often loudly play certain rap lyrics when they walked by and a stuffed monkey was hung in a tree outside the home.

Defense: My client flew into a rage at the fact that his car was being towed- not who towed it. Though he lives in the house, nobody has identified him as playing the music. He does not write song lyrics. The stuffed monkey had been there before he moved in. No- he never thought about any symbolism.

Probable Hate Crime- Gang members drive to area and rob Hispanics using "over kill" violence even with compliant victims. Victims report that violence escalated very fast if they did not not speak English. Video appears to show gang bypassing other ethnic groups to target Hispanics. Attacks end in home invasion rape, robbery, murder involving Hispanic victims.

Defense: Group targeted Hispanics because they were known to carry cash. They then got frustrated at victims who could not speak English because they were forced to spend more time committing the crime, thus more risk. The home invasion target was random and they never saw the occupants before the crime.
 
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The judge who sentenced Ahmaud Arbery's killers made the courtroom sit in silence for 1 minute to put 'into context' how long the men chased Arbery

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Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley

Judge Timothy Walmsley told the courtroom on Friday that he was going to "sit quietly for one minute and that one minute represents a fraction of the time that Ahmaud Arbery was running" away.

He said the three men convicted in his death — Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan — chased Arbery for five minutes in total.
 
Yes

Cryptic said:
I am too- sort of.

Looking at R and his involvement as an individual, I wish the old Georgia law was still in effect. This would make him eligible for parole after 15 years.

Looking at it from a social point of view and a deterrent point of view, I think the 30 year minimum sentence not only serves as a deterrent to others, but serves as a clear and final statement that vigilante justice towards blacks is no longer tolerated in Georgia.

I just cant figure out for myself which takes precedence- the need for a deterrent / statement or looking at R as an individual. I guess I can accept the 30 minimum, but could also accept a 15 year minimum for R.
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Cryptic said:
Though I believe the race of the victim was very deciding factor, actually proving a hate crime can be very difficult as it often involves proving a defendant's state of mind. My guess is that proving a defendants state of mind is reliant on their own statements and / or past actions.

Not all of the defendants are linked to racist social media posts and testimony by one defendant that another defendant used a racial slur upon murdering the victim could be seen a self serving and unreliable.
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RSBM

I think they may be other online activity that was not approached during this trial that may go a long way in proving state of mind. And possibly other past actions/reactions. But that is MOO.
 
Cryptic said:
I am too- sort of.

Looking at R and his involvement as an individual, I wish the old Georgia law was still in effect. This would make him eligible for parole after 15 years.

Looking at it from a social point of view and a deterrent point of view, I think the 30 year minimum sentence not only serves as a deterrent to others, but serves as a clear and final statement that vigilante justice towards blacks is no longer tolerated in Georgia.

I just cant figure out for myself which takes precedence- the need for a deterrent / statement or looking at R as an individual. I guess I can accept the 30 minimum, but could also accept a 15 year minimum for R.
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I think he should be eligible for parole in 10 years. I think he should have been tried separately.
 
Vern said:
Loved the remarks about his toenails from his mom!
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I loved that his mom and sister made him a human being once again. Ms. Cooper-Jones mentioning his feet and his socks sent a clear message that dehumanizing her son (or implying that his hygiene or any other characteristic) would not negate that they hunted down her child. His sister's physical description of her brother was so beautiful and the statement that she loved his attributes as they were hers and her families was even more powerful after she stated that these were the reasons he was killed.

Nothing can bring him back. Mr. Arbery has been on my mind over the past almost two years. When I first heard of his murder and the white-washing of it, I wondered if he would ever get justice. Roddy Bryan deserves his prison time AND I fear that had it not been for his video the McMicheals would be in their home tonight. We need systems to insure that hate crimes and racism can't undermine justice--- we can't have a rise in these crimes.

REST in Power, Mr. Arbery. I am so sorry.
 
LinasK said:
I find it sad that she even felt a need to respond to that disgusting comment. The hygiene of a murder victim's toenails shouldn't even be relevant.
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Oh I absolutely agree. My husband and I actually cheered her on here in our living room as she brought back his humanity for all the world to see and appreciated her dig at the vileness of the defence attorney's usage of his feet as part of their plan.
 
kaen said:
I loved that his mom and sister made him a human being once again. Ms. Cooper-Jones mentioning his feet and his socks sent a clear message that dehumanizing her son (or implying that his hygiene or any other characteristic) would not negate that they hunted down her child. His sister's physical description of her brother was so beautiful and the statement that she loved his attributes as they were hers and her families was even more powerful after she stated that these were the reasons he was killed.

Nothing can bring him back. Mr. Arbery has been on my mind over the past almost two years. When I first heard of his murder and the white-washing of it, I wondered if he would ever get justice. Roddy Bryan deserves his prison time AND I fear that had it not been for his video the McMicheals would be in their home tonight. We need systems to insure that hate crimes and racism can't undermine justice--- we can't have a rise in these crimes.

REST in Power, Mr. Arbery. I am so sorry.
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It's fortunate that Bryan and G. McMichael were stupid enough to think that filming and releasing their own crime scene video would exonerate them. Otherwise, the first two prosecutors would have covered for them and swept the case under the rug.
 
Murderer G McMichael released that video with such hubris. He already knew that the ruse had worked. The DA's office was in his pocket just from the way the crime scene was processed-- he controlled it. (Hell, the police told Ms. Jones-Cooper that Mr. Arbery was killed during the commission of a robbery.) What the murderer G McMicheal didn't calculate was the power of Ms. Cooper-Jones AND the growing public concern over Jackie Johnson, the DA, combined with the the outrage of other murders (Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Atatiana Jefferson) gaining notoriety and the attention of people who during the beginning of the pandemic who had time to focus on this case.

I am willing to bet that the murdering McMichaels curse Bryan everyday. But, it is so clear that Bryan's video was never intended to be used by the prosecutor's office because LEO knew day 1 that it existed and didn't collect it as evidence. They believed they just needed to steer the court of public opinion until people stopped caring. I remember the early Murderer Bryan interview on CNN with Chris Cuomo with his lawyer. You could see that that man was convinced that he was not part of a crime which I am positive came from continued dialogue with the murdering McMichael's team, especially the father.

I am so glad the prosecutor put into the record that the elder murdering McMichael had not done the re-certification steps to maintain his position for more than 6 years and had to have a job designed for him by the disgraced DA Johnson rather than being released for deliberate, willful disobeying of orders. He had a pattern of believing that he was above the law or above the requirements. And, just because he never had a complaint lodged against him does not mean that he always behaved honorably. He worked in a community where the power dynamic of the DAs office and the police rode roughshod over the community (given other issues published about the LE/DA workings).
 
Cool Cats said:
I think he should be eligible for parole in 10 years. I think he should have been tried separately.
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I could also support such a sentence for R, though 15 years would also be acceptable to me as well.

It is just hard to balance the totality of R's individual circumstances with the legitimate government interest is sending a deterrent message: Join a lynch mob- even on impulse, and even in a secondary role, and you will face serious penalties.

In the end, our system has always leaned towards individual, so perhaps R's individual circumstances take precedent over a deterrent message.

In an ideal and impossible world, I would like to see:

- Ms retain their LWOP sentence
- R receive either a 10 or 15 year minimum.
- The home owner receive a 3 year symbolic sentence: Contributed towards the formation of a lynch mob by telling false tales of horrible deeds.
- Former DA get 10 year sentence: Gave biased and wildly favorable reviews that allowed murderers to walk free.


 
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LinasK said:
It's fortunate that Bryan and G. McMichael were stupid enough to think that filming and releasing their own crime scene video would exonerate them. Otherwise, the first two prosecutors would have covered for them and swept the case under the rug.
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I thought the tape was leaked by an attorney to show they were guilty. Why would GM want that tape out there? Everything was going fine for him, it was being swept under the rug etc.

EDIT

I just found this:

Attorney who leaked Ahmaud Arbery 'lynching' video thought it would CLEAR his friends | Daily Mail Online
 
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Bodhi said:
Amazing, isn't it? Utterly entitled. Supremely privileged. The hubris, the blinders, to think the videotape exonerated them. It's stunning.
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Funny, it is not so stunning to me... These men are so myopic that they believe the world believes as they do. Can't have people of color in your neighborhood. Can't have people you don't like in your neighborhood. You are entitled. Many in their neighborhood did not condemn them for their actions. They had people who wanted to testify for them even after the video came out. Theirs is a world view that escapes me but I dare say that there are many who still would back them from their area and across this nation.
 
kaen said:
Funny, it is not so stunning to me... These men are so myopic that they believe the world believes as they do. Can't have people of color in your neighborhood. Can't have people you don't like in your neighborhood. You are entitled. Many in their neighborhood did not condemn them for their actions. They had people who wanted to testify for them even after the video came out. Theirs is a world view that escapes me but I dare say that there are many who still would back them from their area and across this nation.
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Sadly you speak the truth
 
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