Defendants in Ahmaud Arbery's murder trial chased and killed him based on assumptions, prosecution says in opening statement
Prosecutors in the trial of three White men charged with the killing of Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery argued in opening statements Friday the defendants tracked down the 25-year-old, cornered and fatally shot him without evidence or knowledge Arbery had done anything wrong, despite saying they were attempting a citizen's arrest.
"We are here because of assumptions and driveway decisions," prosecutor Linda Dunikoski told the jury in her opening statement.
"In this case, all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions," she said. "Not on facts, not on evidence -- on assumptions. And they made decisions in their driveways based on those assumptions that took a young man's life. And that is why we are here."
Jurors -- 11 White and one Black -- selected in a long and grueling process were sworn in Friday morning, tasked with deciding whether Gregory McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan Jr., are guilty of malice and felony murder in connection with Arbery's shooting. They also face charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. All have pleaded not guilty.
Arbery, 25, was out for a jog on February 23, 2020, near Brunswick when he was shot and killed. Video of the episode surfaced more than two months later, sparking widespread outrage and demonstrations just weeks before the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis set off a summer of nationwide protests against racial injustice.
The McMichaels said they were conducting a citizen's arrest on Arbery, whom they suspected of burglary, and that Travis McMichael shot him with a shotgun in self-defense. Bryan, who recorded a video of the shooting, allegedly hit Arbery with his truck after he joined the McMichaels in chasing Arbery. The three men were allowed to leave the scene and weren't arrested until after the video of the shooting became public.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/05/us/ahmaud-arbery-killing-murder-trial-begins/index.html