Three Men Found Guilty in Death of Ahmaud Arbery

A jury in the American state of Georgia has found three men guilty of murder and other charges in the 2020 killing¹ of Armaud Arbery.

The men chased the unarmed 25-year-old as he was jogging through a neighborhood next to his own in southern Georgia. One of the men, Travis McMichael, then shot and killed Arbery.

All three attackers are white. Arbery was Black. One of the attackers videotaped the killing.

The jury found 35-year-old Travis McMichael guilty of the most serious murder charge. His father, 65-year-old Greg McMichael, and their friend, 52-year-old William Bryan were found guilty of lesser² charges of murder.

The case fueled national anger about race and justice after the video was published online, two months after the murder.

State government lawyers did not argue that race was a reason for the killing. But state prosecutor³ Linda Dunikoski said Arbery presented no danger to the men.

"They killed him not because he's a threat to them. No weapon, no threats, no way to call for help. He (Arbery) ran away for five minutes," she said.

Federal officials have charged the three with hate crimes. They accuse the men of killing Arbery because he was Black. The federal trial is expected to take place in February.

Other charges against the men include assault, false imprisonment⁴ and attempted false imprisonment.

The mostly white Georgia jury took about 10 hours to reach its decision.

The defendants⁵ had argued that they suspected Arbery of stealing. Defense⁶ lawyers said the two were attempting to carry out a legal citizen's arrest when they chased Arbery. Travis McMichael said that he shot Arbery in self-defense. Defense lawyer Jason Sheffield showed jurors video which appeared to show Arbery reaching for Travis McMichael's gun before the shooting.

The prosecution⁷ answered the claim of self-defense by arguing that the defendants had started the incident by seeking to stop and question Arbery.

Before the incident, Arbery was seen leaving an unoccupied, partly built house in the neighborhood.

The state prosecutors⁸ said there was no evidence that Arbery had done anything illegal at the house or in the neighborhood.

The victim was registered for classes at a local college before he was killed. Reports say he was studying to be an electrician.

Arbery's death started nationwide protests last year after video of the incident leaked out two months afterwards. Police had not charged the defendants with murder before that time.

jog –v. to run slowly especially for exercise

prosecutor –n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

assault –n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically⁹

construction –n. the act or process of building something (such as a house or road)

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

5 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

8 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。