Three Men Found Guilty in Death of Ahmaud Arbery
2021-11-25
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1A jury in the American state of Georgia has found three men guilty of murder and other charges in the 2020 killing of Armaud Arbery.
2The men chased the unarmed 25-year-old as he was jogging through a neighborhood next to his own in southern Georgia.
3One of the men, Travis McMichael, then shot and killed Arbery.
4All three attackers are white. Arbery was Black. One of the attackers videotaped the killing.
5The jury found 35-year-old Travis McMichael guilty of the most serious murder charge.
6His father, 65-year-old Greg McMichael, and their friend, 52-year-old William Bryan were found guilty of lesser charges of murder.
7The case fueled national anger about race and justice after the video was published online, two months after the murder.
8State government lawyers did not argue that race was a reason for the killing.
9But state prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said Arbery presented no danger to the men.
10"They killed him not because he's a threat to them. No weapon, no threats, no way to call for help. He (Arbery) ran away for five minutes," she said.
11Federal officials have charged the three with hate crimes.
12They accuse the men of killing Arbery because he was Black.
13The federal trial is expected to take place in February.
14Other charges against the men include assault, false imprisonment and attempted false imprisonment.
15The mostly white Georgia jury took about 10 hours to reach its decision.
16The defendants had argued that they suspected Arbery of stealing.
17Defense lawyers said the two were attempting to carry out a legal citizen's arrest when they chased Arbery.
18Travis McMichael said that he shot Arbery in self-defense.
19Defense lawyer Jason Sheffield showed jurors video which appeared to show Arbery reaching for Travis McMichael's gun before the shooting.
20The prosecution answered the claim of self-defense by arguing that the defendants had started the incident by seeking to stop and question Arbery.
21Before the incident, Arbery was seen leaving an unoccupied, partly built house in the neighborhood.
22The state prosecutors said there was no evidence that Arbery had done anything illegal at the house or in the neighborhood.
23The victim was registered for classes at a local college before he was killed.
24Reports say he was studying to be an electrician.
25Arbery's death started nationwide protests last year after video of the incident leaked out two months afterwards.
26Police had not charged the defendants with murder before that time.
27I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1A jury in the American state of Georgia has found three men guilty of murder and other charges in the 2020 killing of Armaud Arbery. 2The men chased the unarmed 25-year-old as he was jogging through a neighborhood next to his own in southern Georgia. One of the men, Travis McMichael, then shot and killed Arbery. 3All three attackers are white. Arbery was Black. One of the attackers videotaped the killing. 4The jury found 35-year-old Travis McMichael guilty of the most serious murder charge. His father, 65-year-old Greg McMichael, and their friend, 52-year-old William Bryan were found guilty of lesser charges of murder. 5The case fueled national anger about race and justice after the video was published online, two months after the murder. 6State government lawyers did not argue that race was a reason for the killing. But state prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said Arbery presented no danger to the men. 7"They killed him not because he's a threat to them. No weapon, no threats, no way to call for help. He (Arbery) ran away for five minutes," she said. 8Federal officials have charged the three with hate crimes. They accuse the men of killing Arbery because he was Black. The federal trial is expected to take place in February. 9Other charges against the men include assault, false imprisonment and attempted false imprisonment. 10The mostly white Georgia jury took about 10 hours to reach its decision. 11The defendants had argued that they suspected Arbery of stealing. Defense lawyers said the two were attempting to carry out a legal citizen's arrest when they chased Arbery. Travis McMichael said that he shot Arbery in self-defense. Defense lawyer Jason Sheffield showed jurors video which appeared to show Arbery reaching for Travis McMichael's gun before the shooting. 12The prosecution answered the claim of self-defense by arguing that the defendants had started the incident by seeking to stop and question Arbery. 13Before the incident, Arbery was seen leaving an unoccupied, partly built house in the neighborhood. 14The state prosecutors said there was no evidence that Arbery had done anything illegal at the house or in the neighborhood. 15The victim was registered for classes at a local college before he was killed. Reports say he was studying to be an electrician. 16Arbery's death started nationwide protests last year after video of the incident leaked out two months afterwards. Police had not charged the defendants with murder before that time. 17I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 18Russ Bynum reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional material from VOANEWS.com. Caty Weaver was the editor. 19__________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21jog -v. to run slowly especially for exercise 22prosecutor -n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty 23assault -n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically 24construction -n. the act or process of building something (such as a house or road) 25We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.