Ahmaud Arbery: Trials and Tribulations

Ahmaud Arbery: Trials and Tribulations

Zachary Heinis, Staff Writer

Last February, a young black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was murdered by three white men in Georgia.

On November 24th, 2021, the court verdict ruled that all three suspects were found guilty of murder.  These three men now face life sentences in prison.

On February 23rd, Arbery went on a run and did not return home.  Living with his mother, he was testing out different job fields to figure out what he would pursue for the rest of his life.  He went for a jog, and during it stopped by property that was under construction.  Not long after looking at the property, he continued on his run.

He ran past the house of father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael.  After believing Mr. Arbery looked similar to a man suspected of break-ins, Gregory and Travis armed themselves, got into their pickup truck, and chased after Ahmaud.  A third man, William Bryan, was also involved in the chase.

From videos taken of this situation, Mr. Arbery is shown getting cut off by the pickup truck.  Gregory and Travis, armed, positioned themselves in the passenger side and bed of their truck to confront Ahmaud.  Mr. Arbery attempted to run around the truck, but eventually fell and got into an altercation with Gregory McMichael over the shotgun, which ended in Gregory firing the shotgun off multiple times and killing Ahmaud Arbery.

On the 24th of November 2021, the court ruled that Ahmaud Arbury posed no threat against his pursuers, as he was unarmed, and that his pursuers had no reason to believe he had committed a crime.