Three white Americans were found guilty today of killing African-American Amad Arberi, who was chased while he was jogging, and then shot and killed, in February 2020, in the state of Georgia. their self-defense.
Travis McMichael, who fired the fatal shots, Gregory McMichael’s father and their neighbor William Bryan, who took part in the chase, were tried in Branswick, in this state in the southern United States, after the shooting. anti-racism demonstrations in the summer of 2020, across the country.
The twelve jurors, including one black, took more than 11 hours to reach this unanimous verdict.
The announcement was welcomed by protesters, who started shouting the name of Amad Arberi, outside the court. Inside the courtroom, a relative of the victim let out a shout of joy when a jury found Travis McMichael guilty.
On February 23, 2020, a 25-year-old man was jogging in this coastal town in the southeastern United States when he was chased by three men. After a fight, Travis McMichael opened fire and killed the unfortunate young man.
The three defendants claimed that they thought he was a burglar and invoked a Georgia law that allows ordinary citizens to make arrests.
A video, which came to light almost three months later, shocked the United States and made Amad Arberi an idol of the anti-racist Black Lives Matter movement.
The racist dimension of the case, in a state that remains stigmatized by racism and racial segregation, was largely set aside during the trial, which lasted more than a month.
The three convicts are also charged with committing a racist crime by federal justice and will stand trial again in February.
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