Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial Thread

[harrybarracuda]

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

[harrybarracuda]

The defence started off with some long-winded bollocks about how the son ended up back home living with his parents.

Perhaps they are going for a "sad fucking loser" defence.

Duggan, the first witness, testified he responded to the scene of the shooting to find a Black man lying on the pavement and "a couple of other people walking around."
Duggan's body camera footage was played in court, appearing to show Arbery lying motionless, face down in the street. The footage showed Duggan turning Arbery over onto his back, his shirt and shorts saturated with blood.
"There's nothing I can do for this gentleman," Duggan is heard saying before removing his gloves and wiping his hands with a towel. EMS and fire personnel arrived soon after, the video shows.
Duggan testified the footage was an accurate representation of what he saw and experienced. In response to a question by Dunikoski, however, he said the sound did not capture everything.
Duggan determined there was nothing more he could do for Arbery, he testified, due to "the amount of blood loss I saw on the scene, the lack of rise and fall of the chest, and basically the gaping wound I saw in his chest. There was nothing I could do for him."

Dunikoski asked Duggan if someone was standing behind him as this unfolded and he responded yes, that Travis McMichael was standing behind him.
According to a pool reporter present, Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, put her head in her hands and wept as the video was shown. One of the jurors was seen shielding herself with her notebook and appeared unable to watch the video as it played, the reporter noted.
The state also showed footage from the dashboard camera of Duggan's patrol car, which showed another angle of the same scene from a distance. Duggan is seen approaching Arbery, turning him over and crouching beside him.
The officer identified a man pacing back and forth nearby as Travis McMichael, and two other men seen in the dash cam video as Gregory McMichael and Bryan.
During cross-examination from Jason Sheffield, an attorney for Travis McMichael, the officer confirmed Arbery's eyes were not moving when he checked on him.
Duggan also testified he did not have to use verbal commands to de-escalate the defendants in any way but added that Greg McMichael started to walk toward him "two times" and the officer put his hand out and told him to stay back.
The court adjourned just after 5:30 p.m. Friday following Duggan's testimony and is scheduled to reconvene Monday morning.

Ahmaud Arbery trial: Officer who responded to shooting testifies what he saw when he arrived on scene - CNN

[misskit]

Can’t see much of anything in Travis McMichael’s future but prison life.

Last year I drove by the entrance to Satilla Shores on the way to Jekyl Island. There was a mountain of flowers there left in memory of Aubery.

[harrybarracuda]

It seems the defence lawyers don't understand the meaning of the phrase "public gallery".

Also, I'm wondering how much he thinks having black people in the public gallery is going to influence a jury, 11 of which are white.




A lawyer representing one of the three white men accused of chasing down and killing Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, told a judge the defence did not want “any more Black pastors” coming into the Georgia courtroom where the trial is being held.

Lawyer Kevin Gough made the comments on Thursday as the trial of father and son – Gregory McMichael, 65, and Travis McMichael, 35 – and their neighbour William “Roddie” Bryan continued. The trio are accused of chasing down and fatally shooting 25-year-old Arbery as he was running in a mostly white neighbourhood in the city of Brunswick in February 2020.

Gough, who represents Bryan, made the comments after US civil rights leader, Reverand Al Sharpton, attended the trial on Wednesday and conducted a prayer vigil with Arbery’s parents outside the court.

“If their pastor’s Al Sharpton right now, that’s fine. But then that’s it. We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here … sitting with the victim’s family, trying to influence a jury in this case,” Gough said.


Lawyer in Arbery murder trial asks for ‘no more Black pastors’ | Black Lives Matter News | Al Jazeera

[AntRobertson]

AmeriKKKa.

[Edmond]

AmeriKKKa.

Deep.

Can’t see much of anything in Travis McMichael’s future but prison life.

Self-defence, could easily walk.

[beachbound]

Deep.





Self-defence, could easily walk.

You shouldn’t feel the need to be a contentious dick every time you post.

[harrybarracuda]

You shouldn’t feel the need to be a contentious dick every time you post.

Contentious is redundant here.

[beachbound]

Contentious is redundant here.

Good point

[AntRobertson]

He seems to think trolling over dead people is amusing?

[cyrille]

He's a vacuous cock for sure.

In his defence, he's still way brighter than yourdaddy.

[Saint Willy]

Not a particularly high bar.

[panama hat]

We don’t want any more Black pastors coming in here … sitting with the victim’s family

How dare they give comfort to the 'victim's' family. (Are they allowed to be called 'victims' this time'? Also, where is Backspit defending the three defenders of liberty and safety?

[harrybarracuda]

Also, where is Backspit defending the three defenders of liberty and safety?

Busy googling for what he's going to appropriate as his next opinion.

[beachbound]

This case continues to fly under the radar, in the court of public opinion.
The prosecution is giving their rebuttal, this morning.

The defense team, apparently has no shame.

"Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails,"
Laura Hogue-Defense attorney

[Bonecollector]

Self-defence, could easily walk.

and we're off

[panama hat]

his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails,

Ya gotta love US law as a whole . . .

[beachbound]

As rabid as the right has been about defending Rittenhouse, nothing but crickets when it comes to this case.

[Edmond]

Rittenhouse

100% innocent.

nothing but crickets when it comes to this case.

Possibly a little bit less so.

[beachbound]

100% innocent

[harrybarracuda]

As rabid as the right has been about defending Rittenhouse, nothing but crickets when it comes to this case.

Perhaps they have faith in the jury that is 92% white.

[nidhogg]

The defense team, apparently has no shame.

"Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails,"
Laura Hogue-Defense attorney

Bold attempt at the "we thought the n****r had escaped the plantation" defense....

[Edmond]

Out 'jogging' in Khakis and no socks?

Wandering around unoccupied construction sites, as if he's looking for things.



How odd.


Maybe he was doing 400 meter 90 second break splits as part of his fitness regime. :-)

[harrybarracuda]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand he's off.

[pickel]

^^
That's a pretty weak troll.

Did they find a stack of 2×4's in his khakis?

I saw an interview with the owner of that house quite a while ago and he showed the video those stills were from, and it had numerous people stopping by for a look.