Caribbean Legislators Welcome Guilty Verdict in Ahmaud Arbery Murder Case
NEW YORK, New York – Two Caribbean American legislators here on Wednesday welcomed the guilty verdict in Brunswick, Georgia of three White men who pursued and fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane WilliamsA jury of nine white women, two white men and one black man found Travis McMichael, 35; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65; and their neighbor, William Bryan, 52, guilty in Arbery’s murder.
The defendants, who face sentences of up to life in prison, have also been indicted on separate US federal charges.
They are expected to go on trial in February for those charges, which include hate crimes and attempted kidnapping.
“I still haven’t watched the footage of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. I still can’t. But, today, I watched a semblance of justice,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“Ahmaud Arbery was killed, his life stolen, in a racist act of gun violence. That doesn’t change,” added Williams, who has declared his candidacy for Governor of New York in next June’s Democratic Primary. “But with some measure of accountability today, I pray for some measure of comfort for his family and some measure of change for the country that saw him killed for the crime of being a Black man in America.
“Being a Black man in America is also reflected in the absurd dread of waiting for this verdict and being in doubt of its outcome, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, hoping for justice but not expecting it, because we’ve been here before, so many times, and seen justice denied – seen our humanity denied,” he continued.
“We must continue the work of uprooting old systems until the expectation is not justice denied but justice delivered until we can truly be okay,” Williams urged.
New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party, embraced the guilty verdict.
“The guilty verdict will not bring back Ahmed Ahbery, who was chased down and executed by three White men at the age of 25, but it is a step towards restoring faith in our justice system during a week of utter disappointment,” Bichotte Hermelyn, who represents the predominantly Caribbean 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, told CMC.
“If not for the video and public pressure, it’s easy to imagine an outcome where these killers walked free,” she added.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who considers herself a friend of the Caribbean, said the guilty verdicts are “important in showing true accountability in a system that should be fair and just for all.
“It is clear that the facts, as laid out by the strong arguments of the prosecution, resonated with the jury,” said James, another candidate for Governor of New York in next June’s Democratic Primary. “However, we cannot mistake accountability with justice. True justice would be Ahmaud Arbery here today, living his life as he was meant to before he was senselessly taken from the world.
“Though nothing can ever bring Ahmaud back, or erase the pain of losing their loved one, I pray that the Arbery family can find some semblance of peace, as we continue to march forward towards justice for all,” she added.
Chairwoman of the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Joyce Beatty, of Ohio, said: “This story, although devastating, is not new.
“We’ve seen this play out repeatedly: vigilantes acting with racial animus take the lives of Black men and boys, and claim self-defense when confronted with the consequences of their actions,” she said. “Travis McMichael; his father, Gregory McMichael; and William Bryan are criminals who deserve to be punished for their role (s) in murdering 25-year-old, Mr. Ahmaud Arbery.
“Simply put, none of these criminals had any concrete knowledge Mr. Arbery committed any crime on the day they murdered him,” Beatty added. “Further, the vitriol and racist tropes invoked by the defense to justify their client(s) illegally detaining, filming, and committing murder were applauding and extremely offensive.
“Additionally, this heinous crime was captured on video, and the facts are there,” she continued. “Justice has been served. However, there is still much to work to be done.
“The Congressional Black Caucus will continue to champion criminal justice reform and common-sense gun control measures because vigilante justice has no place in our society,” the chairwoman said. “Our thoughts and our prayers remain with the family and loved ones of Mr. Arbery.”
Prosecutors had argued that Arbery posed no imminent threat to the White men and that the men had no reason to believe he had committed a crime.
“You can’t start it and claim self-defense,” said Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor, in her closing argument. “And they started this.
“What’s Mr. Arbery doing?” “He runs away from them. And runs away from them. And runs away from them,” she added.
Defense attorneys, who claimed self-defense, plans to appeal the verdict.
Outside the Glynn County Courthouse, Arbery’s mother and father, joined by civil rights leader, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, on Wednesday expressed thanks, at a press conference, to demonstrators.
“It’s been a long fight, it’s been a hard fight, but God is good,” said Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother. “I never saw this day back in 2020. I never thought this day would come. Thank you for those who marched, those who prayed, and, most of all, the ones who prayed. Yes, Lord. Thank you, guys.”
“I want to give all glory to God, because that’s who made all this possible, said Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery. “It’s not one side did this. God put us all together to make this happen.”
Rev. Sharpton said: “Let the word go forth all over the world that a jury of 11 Whites and one Black in the Deep South stood up in the courtroom and said, ‘Black lives do matter’”.
