Motley News

Three days ago, I posted about a father-son duo that targeted, shot, and killed a 25-year-old black jogger, Ahmaud Arbery, in a neighborhood just outside of Brunswick, GA.  (See post here.) Ahmaud Arbery would have celebrated his 26th birthday on Friday. This murder occurred 74 days ago. Why so long to make the arrest? “Good ol’ boy’s” network, which reared it’s ugly face (see info below). The deep south is still the deep south where racism, although more subdued, is still prevalent among many whites. I lived in Birmingham, AL, for 2 years and was shocked at what I encountered. But that’s another story.

It took the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to do it, two days after picking up the case, and Gregory McMichael (father, 65) and Travis McMichael (son, 34) have finally been charged with aggravated murder after shooting and killing Arbery 74 days ago.

According to the Washington Post:

District Attorney George E. Barnhill, a previous prosecutor on the case, had argued that the suspects’ actions were lawful because they were making a citizen’s arrest of a man they believed to be involved in area burglaries, and Arbery was shot in self-defense…

…While many viewed the video that led to the arrests this week, county police and three separate district attorneys saw it shortly after the shooting and didn’t seek arrest warrants. Adding fuel to the fury, the older McMichael had worked as an investigator for the Glynn County district attorney’s office for two decades and, before that, as a county police officer.

Ayup, that’s a perfect example of a “good ol’ boy’s” network. Once a video emerged to the public of this shooting, it blew McMichael’s story and defense wide open, and the public came forth demanding justice. The video clearly shows Arbery jogging along at a pace and manner typical of all joggers, when the McMichaels’ stopped their pickup ahead of Arbery, then grabbed him as he ran by and began shooting. Three shots, with the third shot being fatal.

Well, better late than never, I suppose. It will be interesting to watch the outcome of this trial. Hopefully, the two will be properly prosecuted and serve the rest of their lives in prison.

Now, talk about “like father, like son,” here is a photo of the two. Travis is a younger mirror-image of his father.