“…When the 25-year-old left for a run on a sunny February afternoon, he passed, for the last time, neighbors whose ring alerts would go off as he raced by their homes. He would eventually meet Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis, 34. Shortly afterwards, Ahmaud Arbery was shot at least twice.
“He was dead before officers arrived.
“For more than two months, Marcus Sr – along with his son’s
siblings and mother – demanded answers. But as the case went through three
district attorneys after the first two had to recuse themselves due to ties
with Gregory McMichael, no one was charged in his son’s death…
“Within two days of the release of the video of his death, after
10 weeks of local law enforcement failing to investigate, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation made
arrests and promised to continue the investigation. The McMichaels were charged
with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday, the day before Ahmaud would
have turned 26.
“His father calls the shooting an act of
racism by the McMichaels, who are white. The Arbery family is black. ‘I’ve
dealt with racism my whole life here,’ Marcus Sr says of the community. ‘Everybody’s
supposed to be equal.’
“Though he doesn’t think that’s the way justice works in Glynn
county, he hopes the shooting of his youngest child may be the catastrophic event
that changes how this corner of Georgia operates. Even if that change does
come, he says, it will be in exchange for his son’s life. ‘I got to live
without my son and they lynched him. It’s just hard,’ he said. ‘He didn’t
deserve that’” (The Guardian).
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