Justice Served!
By Kenneth R. Jenkins
Three White residents — Travis McMichael and his father Gregory, who were armed and in one vehicle, and William “Roddie” Bryan, who was in another vehicle and recorded the pursuit and shooting on his cell phone are now convicted for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Yes, justice has been served on November 24, 2021, after a year, the jury reached a verdict after 12 hours of deliberation spanning over two days after taking the life of another person.
What if this went the other way? What if there was a young white male who was jogging and all of sudden, three black males pursued him and one shoots him? There will be a jury that gives those same people much harder sentences and possibly death.
This was supposed to be a “citizen’s arrest” of a criminal act but there wasn’t not one criminal act in progress. Remember what happened to Trayvon Martin down in Florida?
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Let’s look at the facts, the video showed Arbery jogging on the left side of the road when he encountered a white pickup truck that had stopped in the right lane. Gregory McMichael is standing in the truck bed, while Travis McMichael initially stands beside the driver’s door with a shotgun. Bryan’s vehicle comes to a stop behind Arbery and the pickup truck.
As Arbery approaches the pickup truck, shouting can be heard. Arbery then crosses from the left side of the road to the right side and runs around the passenger’s side of the truck. After passing the truck’s front, Arbery turns left. Meanwhile, Travis McMichael, holding his shotgun, approaches Arbery at the truck’s front. The camera’s view of the confrontation between Arbery and Travis is momentarily blocked.
The video report that the audio of the first gunshot seems to be heard before Arbery and Travis struggle with each other. Some media accounts first report a struggle, and then mention the gunshot(s). Other media accounts describe that it was “not possible” to see from the video what was happening when the first gunshot was fired. (Wikipedia)
Each one of the parties that were involved was found guilty of taking the life of 25-year-old Ahmaud Abrey, who was just an innocent bystander in an unfortunate “lynching” and hate crime of a Black man who was just taking a jog that day not knowing this is was going to be the last day of his life.
Both McMichael's and Bryan will face mandatory sentences come with or without parole is granted, a person who are convicted of murder must serve at least 30-years before becoming eligible. Let’s hope and pray that it will not come to that.
The Abrey Family had their day in court and won; justice has been served and there is a lesson here to be learned, never, ever take the law into your own hands, take it to court.
Kenneth R. Jenkins a freelance writer, poet, podcast host/producer, author, minister, devoted husband living in Savannah, GA.
