On Friday, the prosecution and defense rested their cases in the hate crimes trial of three white Georgia men who were convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery as he ran through their neighborhood, Reuters reported.
Closing arguments will be delivered on Monday, after which the case will be presented to the jury, which will consist of nine caucasian and three African-American jurors. Prosecutors hope to show that Travis McMichael, 36, his father Gregory McMichael, 66, and William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, were motivated by bigotry when they committed the offense.
Arbery’s death in February 2020 was one of the numerous recent racial justice rallies sparked by the deaths of Black men and women, typically at the hands of police. The federal trial of Arbery’s murders is the first time that individuals responsible for such a high-profile homicide have faced a jury in a hate-crime case.
Last year, a state court found the McMichaels and Bryan guilty and sentenced them to life in prison. During the state trial, prosecutors avoided bringing up racial issues, instead of focusing on proving the men were culpable for Arbery’s killing.
Federal prosecutors questioned 20 witnesses and provided evidence this week that revealed the three men had a lengthy history of using obscenities and making racial remarks, according to federal prosecutors.
Travis McMichael stated last month at a hearing that he was prepared to plead guilty to assaulting Ahmaud Arbery because of his “race and color,” a plea deal that Arbery’s family was against.
The arrangement was rejected by Judge Lisa Wood because it required her to sentence Travis McMichael to 30 years in federal prison before returning him to Georgia to complete the remainder of his life sentence for murder.
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