Father and son found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery: Here’s how his death changed the law

A father and son have been found guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

The jury of 11 white jurors and one black juror deliberated for hours before reaching a decision.

Travis and Gregory McMichael and their neighbour William Bryan, now face decades in prison over the death of Mr Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed while out for a jog in February 2020.

There’s one significant change that came out of Arbery’s tragic death, though: a change in the law.

The perpetrators argued they were carrying out a citizen’s arrest under a Civil War-era Georgia law.

After Arbery’s death, it was revoked.

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As a result of their pursuit of Arbery through the community of Satilla Shores, near Brunswick, Georgia, the McMichaels and Bryan, were charged with multiple crimes including malice murder, felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun, and aggravated assault with pickup trucks.

On all counts, they pleaded not guilty.

The jury in Glynn County, Georgia, began deliberations on Tuesday and pondered the case for more than 10 hours before returning a final judgement.

Travis McMichael, the one who shot Arbery, was convicted on all nine counts.

Gregory McMichael, who was in the same truck as his son Travis and was equipped with a pistol and a shotgun, was acquitted of malice murder but found guilty of all other charges.

Bryan, who joined the chase in his own truck and filmed the incident on his phone, was acquitted of malice murder and one count of felony murder but convicted on three other counts of felony murder and three other offences.

When the verdict was read in the courtroom, the Arbery family was overcome with joy. They compared Ahmaud’s death to a "modern-day lynching."

See how others reacted to justice delivered:

The murder happened after the three men took off in pursuit of Arbery, claiming to have attempted a citizen’s arrest of the young man because they believed he was responsible for recent break-ins around the neighbourhood.

During the trial, it was found that, contrary to their allegations, the McMichaels’ knew that Arbery had not been accused of any crimes.

Citizen’s arrests in the United States have a troubled history,  with a strong link to the enslavement of African Americans.

The state’s last version, which was passed by the legislature in 2010 and signed into law, said, in part, “If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.”