Ahmaud Arbery’s killers ask a US appeals court to overturn their hate crime convictions

Attorneys Seek to Overturn Hate Crime Convictions in Ahmaud Arbery Case

ATLANTA (AP) — Attorneys for three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery in a Georgia subdivision asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to throw out their hate crime convictions, arguing that prosecutors relied on their history of racist comments without proving they targeted Arbery because he was Black.

Core Issue and Legal Technicalities

Their arguments also strayed beyond the core issue of whether a racist intent to harm motivated the Feb. 23, 2020, pursuit that ended with Arbery shot dead in the street. Defense attorneys raised legal technicalities, including their contention that prosecutors failed to prove Arbery was killed on a public road.

Prosecutors’ Counterarguments

Federal prosecutors countered that the trial jury in 2022 heard sufficient evidence to find the trio guilty of hate crimes as well as attempted kidnapping. Racist views evidenced by the men’s prior text messages and social media posts, they said, informed their mistaken assumption that Arbery was a fleeing criminal.

Significance of Hate Crimes

“The hate-fueled violence the defendants inflicted on Ahmaud is precisely the type of conduct that Congress targeted when it passed the Civil Rights Act,” said Brant Levine, an attorney for the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

The Incident and Arrests

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves with guns and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after spotting the 25-year-old man running in their neighborhood outside the port city of Brunswick. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun.

More than two months passed without arrests, until Bryan’s graphic video of the killing leaked online and a national outcry erupted over Arbery’s death. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police and charges soon followed.

Convictions and Racist Evidence

All three men were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court in late 2021, followed months later by the federal hate crimes trial. In their oral arguments and legal briefs, lawyers for Greg McMichael and Bryan cited the prosecutors’ use of more than two dozen social media posts and text messages, as well as witness testimony, that showed all three men using racist slurs or otherwise disparaging Black people.

Defense Arguments

Bryan’s attorney, Pete Theodocion, called it “some of the ugliest, most repulsive evidence any of us have ever heard in a trial,” and explosive enough that prosecutors could sway a jury without proving a racist intent to harm Arbery himself. Balbo said Greg McMichael initiated the pursuit of Arbery because he mistakenly suspected him of being a fleeing criminal.

Judges’ Reactions

One of the judges sounded skeptical. Judge Britt Grant, nominated to the appeals court by former President Donald Trump, said the trial evidence of racist intent behind Arbery’s killing “seems pretty overwhelming to me.”

Judge Elizabeth “Lisa” Branch, another Trump appellate court nominee; and District Court Judge Victoria Calvert, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to the federal bench and is serving temporarily on the 11th Circuit, also heard the arguments. The judges did not indicate how long they might take to rule.

Additional Legal Technicalities

The legal technicalities raised by the defense included Travis McMichael’s attorney, Amy Lee Copeland, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove the streets of the Satilla Shores subdivision where Arbery was killed were public roads, as stated in the indictment used to charge the men. Copeland cited records of a 1958 meeting of Glynn County commissioners in which they rejected taking ownership of the streets from the subdivision’s developer.

Theodocion also argued that using their pickup trucks to cut off Arbery’s escape from the neighborhood didn’t amount to attempted kidnapping. He said the charge was improper because the men weren’t seeking ransom or some other benefit, an element required to prove the charge as a federal crime.

Sentencing and Pending Motions

The trial judge sentenced both McMichaels to life in prison for their hate crime convictions, plus additional time — 10 years for Travis McMichael and seven years for his father — for openly carrying guns while committing violent crimes. Bryan received a lighter hate crime sentence of 35 years in prison, in part because he wasn’t armed and preserved the cellphone video that became crucial evidence.

All three also got 20 years for attempted kidnapping, to overlap with their hate crime sentences. If the U.S. appeals court overturns any of their federal convictions, both McMichaels and Bryan would remain in prison. All three are serving life sentences in Georgia state prisons for murder, and have motions for new state trials pending before a judge.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities

• Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and action in this regard.

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 10 because they involve racial discrimination and hate crimes. The article discusses the arguments made by the defense attorneys, who claim that the prosecutors did not prove that the defendants targeted Ahmaud Arbery because he was Black. This highlights the issue of racial inequalities and discrimination.

2. Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
• Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

The issues discussed in the article are also connected to SDG 16 because they involve violence and the pursuit of justice. The article describes the violent chase and killing of Ahmaud Arbery by three white men. The defense attorneys are arguing for the overturning of hate crime convictions, which raises questions about access to justice and the rule of law.

3. Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 5 – Gender Equality

• Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

The article does not directly address gender equality, so there are no specific targets or indicators related to SDG 5 that can be identified based on the article’s content.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: apnews.com

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.