Nov 23, 12:28pm
After nearly two weeks of testimony in the trial of three white men accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery last year, closing arguments came to an end on Tuesday.
Linda Dunikoski is the prosecutor at the Glynn County Courthouse. Sean Rayford is the photographer.
The images are from the same company.
After 13 days of deliberations, the jury of 11 white and 1 black began to deliberate in the trial of the father-and-son pair of Gregory and Travis McMichael and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan.
The three men killed Arbery based on his race, with no justification for their actions, as argued by the prosecutors.
Dunikoski claimed that the men went after Arbery because he was a black man.
The men suspected Arbery, an avid jogger, was running through their neighborhood because he was a criminal and therefore had the right to go after him as part of a citizen's arrest, even though they hadn't seen him commit a crime.
Prosecutors say that the men imprisoned Arbery by forcing them to drive their pickup trucks after a five minute chase, and that's when they shot and killed Arbery.
Self-defense is not possible in this case because the men were acting aggressive.
"If you're going to take the law into your own hands, you need to know what the law is," Dunikoski said in her closing argument.
Critics.
Kevin Gough, who is representing Bryan, made a motion for a mistrial many times because of the presence of prominent Black pastors in the courtroom. At one point, he told the court, "we don't want any more Black pastors in here", though he later apologized for the comment. The Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton were tried to have barred from the courtroom.
What to watch for.
If the men are found guilty of murder, they will face life in prison.
The key background.
Last year, national outrage was sparked by the killing of Arbery and the slow response by authorities. The McMichaels were arrested on May 7 after a video of the killing was posted online. Bryan was arrested on May 21. Floyd was murdered four days later, leading to massive Black Lives Matter protests. Floyd and Arbery were seen as the central figures of the protests.
There is a structure called the Tangent.
Laura Hogue, who represents Gregory McMichael, was condemned for comments she made in her closing argument on Monday, when she claimed that the McMichaels had reason to believe that Arbery was a criminal because of his long dirty toenails.
Ahmaud Arbery's 2020 killing was led to by "driveway decisions".
Ahmaud Arbery's killer wipes away tears while testifying.
The defense attorney in the Arbery trial is accusing black pastors of being public lynchings.
