The black Arbery was chased and shot by white Americans while jogging. The arrests came after a disturbing video surfaced. Now three defendants will be tried.
Washington – More than a year and a half after the violent death of the black jogger Ahmaud Arbery in the US state of Georgia, the murder trial of the three white defendants has begun.
The jury selection process started on Monday in the court in Brunswick, as US media reported. Around 1000 candidates had been summoned. Twelve jurors and four representatives are to be selected from among them, who are not prejudiced. The broadcaster CNN reported that the selection alone could take two to two and a half weeks. The defendants plead not guilty.
Arbery (25) was shot while jogging in Brunswick on February 23 last year. However, the investigation didn’t really get going until more than two months later, when the case received widespread attention through a disturbing cell phone video. A little later – on May 25, 2020 – the African American George Floyd was killed in a brutal police operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Afterwards there were protests against racism and also against police violence in the USA for months.
In the Arbery case, suspect Gregory M. and his adult son Travis were arrested after the video of the attack became public. According to investigators, they first followed Arbery with their vehicle and then threatened them with firearms. According to the autopsy report, Arbery was hit in the chest by two rounds of shotgun ammunition at close range, and a third shot grazed his right wrist. The third defendant, William R., had filmed the crime, according to investigators. The defense argues the men chased Arbery for mistaking him for a burglar.
In addition to the Georgia criminal case, the men are also charged under federal law on the alleged racist background. The act was classified as a “hate crime,” the Justice Ministry said last April. dpa
