The man who shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging through a suburban Georgia neighborhood last year tried to counter the prosecution's depiction of the shooting as the culmination of a racially motivated attack by a group.
The trial of McMichael and his father Greg was held in Georgia. The photo was taken in a pool.
The Associated Press.
McMichael wiped away tears while testifying that he faced a life-or-death situation after he and two other men rammed Arbery with a pickup truck.
McMichael said he did not leave his home in Georgia with the intention to kill Arbery, who defense attorneys argue was mistakenly identified as a suspect in local burglaries, prompting McMichael and the two other men to attempt a citizen's arrest.
McMichael said that Arbery tried to take his weapon after chasing him down.
The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Arbery testified Wednesday that he was likely shot while at a distance of three to 20 inches, but it's unclear if Arbery ever grabbed the gun.
McMichael couldn't have fired in self-defense since he was the one who started the shooting.
McMichael said it was obvious that he was attacking him. He said he was not in his right mind when he pulled the gun and killed Arbery.
The key background.
The trial of McMichael, his father, and a neighbor began on day nine. Gregory McMichael was working in his driveway when he saw Arbery running through his neighborhood and he suspected he was responsible for a crime. He and his son pursued Arbery in a pickup truck, which at one point passed Bryan's house, leading to him joining the chase. McMichael shot Arbery after exiting his truck.
The defense has repeatedly called for a mistrial over the presence of civil rights icons in the courtroom. Kevin said last week that Bryan doesn't want any more Black pastors. He apologized for the comment, but Judge Timothy Walmsley said he found some of the statements to be "reprehensible."
At the trial, the medical examiner said Ahmaud Arbery was shot at close range.
A judge has rejected a request for a mistrial for Ahmaud Arbery's killers.
Ahmaud Arbery's 2020 killing was led to by "driveway decisions".
